Cork fisherman died instantly after falling from ladder, inquest hears

A young crew member fell off a ladder on board a fishing vessel fracturing his upper neck causing cardiac arrest and instant death, an inquest has heard.

The Coroner’s Court in Bantry, Co Cork heard that Desmond (Des) Hurley (29) lost his balance whilst on a ladder in the accommodation deck of a family owned fishing vessel, the Breizh Arvor II, on December 14, 2023.

Des, his brother Mark and other crew members had been fishing at the Porcupine Bank off the south west coast of Ireland when the accident occurred.

Coroner Frank O’Connell said that unfortunately it was a case “of lightning striking” leading to a “one in a million death.” 

Mark Hurley, who is a brother of the deceased, said that he asked Desmond to take over at the wheelhouse at close to midnight on December 13, 2023. Desmond went downstairs to change his jumper.

Mark went looking for his brother when he didn’t come back up from accommodation deck in a matter of minutes. 

He went looking for Des in the accommodation deck. He saw his brother lying on the floor.

Mark told the Coroner that he and another crew member administered CPR on Des but to no avail.

“We could see Des was gone but we had to try.” 

Mark said that Des had sustained a mark on his forehead. 

Mark, in his role as skipper, instructed the crew to haul in their nets so that they could return back to shore. 

Mark contacted Valentia Coastguard. He then called Medico to speak to a nurse.

Crew member Haralambie Floren said that he had experience in first aid and assisted Mark with CPR on Des. 

He stated that the administering of CPR was difficult because of sea swells.

Poignantly, the inquest heard that the crew members didn’t want to leave Des lying on the floor as they made the journey back to Castletownbere. They made a decision to lift him to his bunk bed to give him dignity in death.

Sgt Stephen O’Sullivan who was on duty at Castletownbere Garda Station on December 14 of last year said that they were informed that a death had occurred at sea. The fishing vessel returned to Castletownbere that evening.

He said that having accessed the scene his opinion was that Des probably slipped on a step as he made his way back up the timber stairs of the accommodation deck having retrieved his jumper. He stated that Des possibly hit his head off the door frame of the room.

Scenes of crimes investigators assessed the scene. However, this was only a formality as there was no suggestion of anything untoward having happened. The Marine Casualty Board and the HSE were contacted as a matter of course.

Postmortem

Dr Margaret Bolster carried out a postmortem on the body of Mr Hurley at the morgue in Cork city. She said that Des sustained a fracture of the upper neck bone. She stated that injuries of this type can lead to cardiac arrest.

Dr Bolster reassured family members of the deceased that death would have occurred “very quickly.” 

She indicated that the injury had caused Des’s heart to stop.

In conclusion, the Coroner Frank O’Connell noted that there was “strong circumstantial evidence” that Des lost his footing on the ladder, sustained a neck injury and suffered cardio respiratory failure. 

He offered his heartfelt condolences to the Hurley family and said that the death had occurred as a result of “extreme bad luck.” 

He acknowledged that the passing of Des was a “terrible blow to the family.” 

Inspector Triona O’Mahony and the foreman of the jury also offered their sympathy to the relatives of the deceased. 

The foreman said that what had happened to Des was “unimaginable.” 

Meanwhile, the town of Kinsale came to a standstill on December 18, 2023 for the funeral of Mr Hurley.

Des who was from Eltin’s Wood in Kinsale, is survived by his parents Jimmy and Noreen, his siblings Chris, Mark, Jemma and Vikki, his grandparents Christy and Eileen and partner Larissa.

He was a past pupil of Kinsale Community School. He also studied at the BIM fisheries college. 

He was laid to rest at St Eltin’s cemetery following a funeral mass at St John the Baptist Church in Kinsale.

The cortège stopped off at the pier in Kinsale on the day of the funeral amid poignant scenes. 

His family did a large amount of fundraising for the emergency services in the months following his death.