Parents were worried sick before son's Bali tragedy

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This was published 12 years ago

Parents were worried sick before son's Bali tragedy

By Melissa Davey

THE parents of Jake Flannery, the central coast teenager who was electrocuted while walking down a tourist strip in Bali where he had gone for a schoolies trip, have described how they were ''worried sick'' about their son going overseas.

Colin and Cheryl told Nine News they had warned their 18-year-old about the dangers of schoolies before he left with friends on his first overseas trip.

Electrocuted ... Jake Flannery, with a friend.

Electrocuted ... Jake Flannery, with a friend.Credit: Facebook

Mrs Flannery said her son had sent her a Facebook message after he arrived in Bali last Wednesday assuring her he was safe and having a great time.

But while heading back to his resort with his two best friends at about 3am on Saturday Mr Flannery walked along a section of footpath where roadworks were being carried out and inadvertently grabbed a neon sign that had a powerful current surging through it.

His friends tried to resuscitate him, but he is believed to have died instantly.

They will now cut their planned two-week trip short and return to Australia.

Mr Flannery's parents said they were unsure if they would travel to Indonesia to formally identify his body. They are being counselled by officers from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. The Australian Consulate in Bali is organising the return of the body to Australia in consultation with his family, a department spokesman said.

Mr Flannery had just graduated from Gosford High School, a selective school where he studied three-unit mathematics and was on the hockey team. He also worked part-time at the Coles supermarket at The Entrance.

A Facebook page set up for the teenager had more than 500 members last night.

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Many posts were by parents whose teenagers are also in Bali.

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''My daughter is in Bali with schoolies and, as other parents have said, probably on the same plane,'' Karen Pearce wrote.

''None of us wanted them to go but there's a certain time when you have to let go - not even imagining such a tragedy like this would happen.''

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