A coronial inquest into the 2021 Hillcrest Primary School jumping castle tragedy in Devonport has heard emotional testimony from a senior Tasmania Police officer, Assistant Commissioner Adrian Bodnar, who likened the distressing scenes captured on body-worn cameras to his experiences at the Port Arthur massacre.

Assistant Commissioner Bodnar, who was not present at the scene on the day of the tragedy, told the inquest on Friday that reviewing approximately two hours of police body-worn camera footage in preparation for his testimony evoked “a lot of those memories” from his time as an officer responding to the 1996 Port Arthur massacre. He described the scene at Hillcrest as “chaotic” but expressed pride in the officers who worked alongside paramedics in efforts to save the children.

During his evidence, Assistant Commissioner Bodnar also issued a sincere apology on behalf of Tasmania Police to Georgie Burt, the mother of Zane Mellor, one of the six children who died. Ms Burt had previously told the inquest that she was mistakenly informed her 12-year-old son had been taken to Mersey Community Hospital, when in fact he had died on the school oval. She was unable to see her son’s body for three days following the incident. Assistant Commissioner Bodnar acknowledged that other families had been able to be with their children on the oval and apologised for the distress caused. He noted that a teacher had misidentified Zane on the day, and another family was incorrectly told their child had died when they were still alive.

The inquest is examining the circumstances surrounding the December 16, 2021, tragedy, where a sudden wind gust lifted a jumping castle into the air during end-of-year celebrations, resulting in the deaths of Addison Stewart, Chace Harrison, Jye Sheehan, Jalailah Jayne-Maree Jones, Peter Dodt, and Zane Mellor.

Assistant Commissioner Bodnar also revealed that 11 workers’ compensation claims have been lodged by police officers linked to the tragedy. Lawyers representing the affected families have requested that school staff be called to give evidence, citing that families feel excluded by the school. The state’s lawyer argued that such testimony could negatively impact the health of school staff, with Coroner Olivia McTaggart expected to rule on this request at a later date.

The inquest is scheduled to resume with further hearings in November and February.

For more details, readers are encouraged to refer to the original reporting by ABC News (Tasmania).