Student lay dead in New Zealand university dorm for two months

A teenager lay dead in his campus dorm room for up to two months, a New Zealand university said Thursday, with the young man's body only discovered after fellow residents complained of the smell.

The remains of the first year University of Canterbury student were so badly decomposed that specialist disaster investigators were brought in to identify them.

"Clearly there's been quite a big failure here," New Zealand Education Minister Chris Hipkins said.

"And if that means that things need to change to make sure this sort of thing doesn't happen again in the future, then we will do that."
The 19-year-old, who has not been publicly identified, was described by friends as a "good and confident guy", but who would sometimes "go off the grid for a week or so."
"I'm very perturbed. If indeed the young man was deceased for as long as he was... then I would say that is a failing on our part and we have to adjust our processes and systems."