Emily, a young mother from Camden, died when the boat she was on with her fiancé, their two children, and her father capsized at Penrith Weir on the Nepean River.
Her mum Bev Warn is calling for warning signs to be placed in the area after another near-tragedy in the same location in the days following her daughter’s tragic death.
“(She had) the kindest most beautiful heart,” Ms Warn said, describing Emily as “full of life”.
“When I saw that accident yesterday, I thought, this has just got to be stopped, [Emily’s] death should have been plenty,” she added.
Three adults and two young children had to be winched to safety after their boat overturned at the same spot yesterday afternoon.
The close call was the third incident at Penrith Weir in two-and-a-half months. Two men were rescued in November.
The river is supposed to have yellow buoys to warn people, but these have been washed away.
Water NSW, who is the authority responsible for the weir, said it only discovered the damage during a routine check last Tuesday – a few days before the tragedy.
This afternoon Marine Officers were on the water, installing interim safety markers until the damaged buoys are properly replaced.
“Those buoys are going to be replaced, they’ll be replaced by next Tuesday,” Water Minister Kevin Anderson said.
Ms Warn said she hopes they will help save someone else’s life.
“The weir was invisible, I don’t think people realise that,” she said.
“Without those buoys, no one has a chance to know it’s there.”
Source: 9News
