It was security guard Falelua Leitupo’s first day minding the Paremata boat ramp, and as he watched the heap of people jump from the nearby bridge he was mentally preparing himself.
“I said to myself, ‘I know something will happen’. That’s what I normally do, especially when I work in the security … I always prepare myself for whatever is going to happen.”
A sweltering Wednesday – the capital reached a maximum temperature of 28.5 degrees Celsius – had drawn a crowd to the bridge, popular with those eager to cool off in the estuary.