A UK coroner's inquest into the riverboarding death of English traveller Emily Jordan (21) began yesterday, three years after she drowned on the Kawarau River in April 2008.
Following the accident, her father, Chris Jordan, wrote to Prime Minister John Key, sparking major changes in the adventure sector, meaning tourism operators are now required to undergo compulsory registration and face stricter supervision.
Miss Jordan drowned after being swamped and pinned by a rock for 20 minutes while on a Mad Dog river boarding trip near the Roaring Meg power station.
The company was later found responsible for her death. In October, owner Brad McLeod changed Mad Dog's name to the River Boarding Co. - a move labelled as "cynical" by Mr Jordan.
He has been outspoken in criticising New Zealand's adventure tourism safety regulations and called the $150,000 fines and reparations ordered against Mad Dog an "insult" to his daughter's name.
