Yahoo News Support boat pilot believed firefighter's English Channel swim would be stopped before he drowned
A support boat pilot believed a firefighter's charity swim across the English Channel would be stopped half an hour before he disappeared beneath the surface and drowned. Tragic Iain Hughes, based at Wednesbury, died after disappearing during the charity challenge last year.
A coroner has now raised concerns about how such challenges are run and communication around decisions to abort them when swimmers appear to be slowing or in difficulty. A pilot who was escorting the 42-year-old dad-of-two across the Channel in a support boat told how he was "concerned about progress" 30 minutes before his disappearance and believed "it was likely the swim would be aborted".
But Black Country senior coroner Zafar Siddque said it was "not clear how this was communicated to the family and no action was taken to abort the swim". The coroner said there was "confusion" about when swims should be called off and suggested future challenges should be reviewed.
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A safety briefing before the swim was also described as being "fragmented" by someone present. "She said she didn’t recall any discussion of Iain’s safety checks, warning signs to look out for and when the swim would be aborted," a report by the coroner added.
Mr Siddique has now sent a prevention of future deaths report to the Channel Swimming Pilot Federation. He wrote: "During the course of the inquest the evidence revealed matters giving rise to concern.
"In my opinion, there is a risk that future deaths could occur unless action is taken. In the circumstances, it is my statutory duty to report to you.
"During the course of the inquest, I heard evidence from the pilot (redacted). He confirmed at around 30 minutes before Mr Hughes became submerged, that he was concerned about progress and that it was likely the swim would be aborted.
"It is not clear how this was communicated to the family and no action was taken to abort the swim. My concern is that this lack of clarity of who and when should make the decision to abort a swim can result in unnecessary delay and increased risk.
"I am told by the CSPF (Channel Swimming and Piloting Federation) they have clear guidance and protocols in place and have been provided with several documents to support this. There is always an element of risk by the very nature of the Channel crossing challenge.
"However, given this incident and confusion about when a swim should be aborted, you may wish to review the situation further and how this is communicated to all those involved." Mr Hughes, from Wednesbury Fire Station, was said to be on for "record" pace after starting the swim off strong in June last year.
But his progress slowed and around 11 and a half hours into the challenge he disappeared below the surface. After a massive search, his body was eventually discovered in Belgian waters two weeks later on July 4.
At an inquest in February, Mr Siddique concluded the firefighter died by misadventure.
