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Strange Deaths

This could perhaps be on All The Lonely People too:

Dutch skydiver Mark van den Boogaard lay dead for days
By Anna Holligan, BBC News, The Hague

Dutch police are investigating how the body of skydiver lay undetected in a field for more than a week.
Mark van den Boogaard was not reported missing and his body was discovered by chance by rabbit hunters. His parachute had failed to open.
He organised his jump with the largest skydiving club in the Netherlands.
But the club said it had not launched a search as it was not usual for skydivers to report back after their jump.

Police information officer Anton De Ronde said a local team had visited Mr Boogaard's family to inform them, but that he was not close to any of his relatives - which is, the police believe, why no-one reported him missing.

Simon Woerlee, manager of the Nationaal Paracentrum skydiving club, in the village of Teuge in Gelderland province, described his members as "shocked".
He described Mr Boogaard as "a friendly and happy man, but a loner, someone who did not really talk to anyone and was always on his own".
He was self-employed, so no-one from work called to see why he was absent.

Mr Boogaard was a regular and relatively experienced skydiver, according to club records, completing approximately 120 jumps since joining up in summer 2011.
The Royal Netherlands Aeronautical Association is examining the equipment to try to work out why neither the main chute or the reserve chute opened.

Mr Woerlee of the parachute club said there was no system to make sure that a jump had been completed safely.
"We never check, there is no law, no regulations," he said.
"They have tried it in America but it didn't work. Sometimes people come back to the club for a cup of tea and a chat, but sometimes they just pack up and leave.

"If you are forced to find out where everyone is, there can be a big drama for nothing. You can call all the emergency rescue teams and helicopters, then discover the person is sitting at home having tea with his granddad - that has happened before."

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-20780780

I'm very surprised there isn't some sort of "counted them all out, counted them all back" system in place. Railway workers, miners, and many others have employed various 'safety token' systems in the past, and with modern electronics and communications this system can easily be automated.
 
Dead of head injury, standing upright in his kitchen with his hand in the cupboard
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...TANDING-UP-kitchen-suffering-head-injury.html

A coroner has described the death of a man who was found standing up in his kitchen as 'bizarre'.

A friend called out when he saw Andrew Evans, 35, through the window standing up with his hand reaching into a cupboard in the kitchen of his East Grinstead, West Sussex home.

But it was only when he received no reply and let himself in that Mr Evans's friend realised that he was dead.
Verdict: The coroner ruled that Andrew Evans's death was accidental at Horsham Coroner's Court, pictured

Verdict: The coroner ruled that Andrew Evans's death was accidental at Horsham Coroner's Court, pictured

Mr Evans had injured his head before his death on May 10, but it is not known how seriously.

Horsham Coroner's court heard how Mr Evans was four times the drink drive limit when he died.

It is thought that he died after blacking out as he reached into a cupboard in his kitchen

His body is said to have fallen against the kitchen fittings and he remained standing up.

His injury had caused him to bleed heavily, but the court heard he might not have realised how serious the injury was 'because of his intoxicated state'.

Coroner Dr David Skipp said at the inquest last week that the death was 'strange', but said he died from asphyxiation of the lungs.

He said: 'It is unusual for a man whose alcohol levels were high to be found stood against a work surface.

'He obviously did not try to get out of the flat after banging his head and the evidence suggests he was not bothered by what was going on - It is bizarre.'

A verdict of accidental death was recorded.
 
How very unusual. Reminds me of the death of a nurse some years ago, who was found dead standing upright but bent forwards from the waist, leaning on her fridge.
She seemed to have passed out drunk in that position and then asphyxiated.

Just noticed this, about the unfortunate parachutist -

the club said it had not launched a search as it was not usual for skydivers to report back after their jump.
Click to expand...

I agree that skydivers ought to check in afterwards. A quick text'd do it.
 
Pooping Man Killed by Subway Train As Second Man Is Injured Nearby

This is a weird one. A man was killed Tuesday afternoon after he fell from a moving subway train onto the tracks. But how did he fall, you ask? He was shitting between cars, as one does, when he apparently slipped, plunging to one of the more shameful deaths imaginable.

Tragic and terrifying, although perhaps less so – if only because of the pooping — than two other recent subway deaths.

Making things somewhat confusing, there was apparently a separate incident at the same subway station just before the fatal accident. According to the NYPD, a bloody man with a broken pelvis and "severe buttocks injuries" was found on the opposite platform after he mysteriously emerged from the tracks. The man, who police identified as Manuce Dulcio, didn't know how he got there or what had happened to him, although police noted he was very drunk.

Police initially said the two men had been fighting, although that turned out to be false. Instead, it was just your standard death-by-pooping/mysterious-drunken-injury incident, which is all too common these days.
Click to expand...
http://gawker.com/5976311/pooping-man-k ... red-nearby
 
Tragic secret Benjamin Britten took to the grave revealed in new biography
Benjamin Britten's life was cut tragically short at the height of his career by a cureable disease he was unaware that he had, a new book will reveal.
By Roya Nikkhah, Arts Correspondent
9:00PM GMT 19 Jan 2013

Hailed as one of the greatest composer’s of the 20th century, Britten died at the age of 63. Until now, it has always been believed that complications from heart surgery were the cause.

But a new book about the composer will disclose how Britten died without knowing he was suffering from syphilis, an illness that could have been cured had he been diagnosed earlier in his life.
The claim is made in a new biography by Paul Kildea, a conductor and Britten expert, which will be published next month to mark Britten’s centenary.

Britten wrote what are widely considered some of his most accomplished works during the final years of his life, including the 1973 opera Death in Venice, Phaedra, a cantata composed in 1975 and String Quartet No. 3, written in 1976, the year he died.
Mr Kildea said: “These works - music of such incredible colour and energy - were signs that despite his physical decline, his imagination was as fit as ever.
“These were years of unfettered brilliance, of inspiration at every turn, and of notebooks brimming with plans and ideas. Had his heart been uninfected by syphilis, he probably would not have needed surgery.
"Without surgery, would he have gone on composing for years with the skill, vision and youthfulness exhibited in these late works? He probably could have gone on writing for another 10 years but he died not knowing that.”

In 1972, Britten was diagnosed with “aortic incompetence”, a condition where blood leaks through the aortic valve, weakening the heart.
He underwent surgery for the condition in 1973 under Donald Ross, a leading heart surgeon of the day. During the operation, however, Mr Ross discovered that he was infected with tertiary syphilis, which was by then too advanced to treat.

Britten had no suspicion of the illness. Because of the taboo surrounding the disease, neither he nor those closest to him, including the tenor Peter Pears, his long-term partner, were informed. But Mr Ross later confided in Hywel Davies, a cardiologist, about Britten’s condition.

Following the operation, Britten’s health never fully recovered. He died on December 4, 1976, at the Red House, his home in Aldeburgh, Suffolk, which today is home to his archive and the Britten-Pears Foundation.

...

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/9813 ... raphy.html
 
Camden pedestrian killed by falling betting shop sign

A man has died after a shop sign fell on him in north London.
The victim was hit on the head by the metal sign which toppled from a William Hill betting shop in Camden Road, Camden, at about 17:00 GMT.
Police said the man - thought to be in his 20s - had a cardiac arrest at the scene and died in hospital.

A William Hill spokeswoman said: "There is an urgent investigation under way and we are still establishing facts and liaising with authorities."
The man was injured when the sign, which was about 9m (30ft) long and had covered the length of the shop front, fell on to the pavement.

It is understood health and safety investigators have been into a flat above the shop to take photographs of the sign.

Ioana Nita, 21, was working at a nearby restaurant when the accident happened.
She said: "We heard a very loud noise. Me and a colleague went outside and saw the guy lying on the floor.
"Five guys picked up the sign and it was put on the side.
"His hands were covered in blood and he wasn't moving. Lots of people were in a circle around him then the ambulance arrived."

Ken Osbourne, 28, who works at the Woody Grill restaurant, said: "I saw the guy lying down in the road, covered in blood.
"The main impact was clearly on his head. I saw them trying to resuscitate him in the back of the ambulance.
"Hundreds of people walk past here every day. It could've been me or any one of them.
"The shop has been there for about 10 years."

A Scotland Yard spokesman said: "Officers and London Ambulance Service attended and the man, believed to be aged in his 20s, was taken to a central London hospital for treatment.
"He died there a short while later."

Police have erected a forensic tent on the pavement to cover the spot where the man was hit and cordoned off the surrounding area

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-21234216

Bad taste joke:

What were the odds on that happening?
 
May Lewis death: carer Carole Conway 'assumed' lift was there
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-21263437

Carole Conway said she "just assumed" the lift was there

A Cardiff inquest has heard how a 96-year-old woman died when her wheelchair was pushed into an open care home lift shaft, breaking 52 bones in the fall.

May Lewis fell 20ft (six metres) and was killed instantly, just five days after moving into Pontcanna House.

The carer, who did not notice the lift had not arrived at the top floor when the door opened, survived the fall.

The ongoing inquest heard staff regularly used an over-ride key for the malfunctioning lift.

Carole Conway - who has been a carer for 19 years - described how she reversed the wheelchair through the lift doors.

"I did not look inside before I stepped in, I just assumed it was there," she said.

"The lift was playing up - we always had problems with it.

"I just remember being on the floor with the wheelchair on top of me."

Ms Lewis suffered 52 fractures to her ribcage, internal bleeding and fractures to her spine, skull and pelvis, and died at the scene on 6 March, 2012.

Kerry Hill, a supervisor at the care home in the Llandaff area of Cardiff, said: "I heard a shout and I thought someone had fallen over.

"I can still picture May's face. I thought we had lost Carole too.

Continue reading the main story
“
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I could tell something serious had happened - I knew instinctively my mum was dead”

Brenda Jones
May Lewis' daughter
"I hate lifts. I would never go in there on my own."

The inquest heard staff routinely used an emergency key to access the lift when mechanical failures prevented the door from opening automatically.

However, staff had been warned that using the key could be dangerous.

Deputy care manager Brenda Norman said: "The lift did malfunction.

"Once we had to call the fire brigade because a resident and a carer got stuck between floors.

"After the incident a key was made available to staff members to free anyone trapped at ground-floor level in an emergency.

"I did not know the key was being used on a routine basis. If management had known, we would not have let it carry on."

Ms Lewis' daughter, Brenda Jones, told the inquest: "When I last saw my mother, she was enjoying a sing-along at the home.

"She was tapping a tambourine and smiling. I had no qualms about the quality of her care."

However, she received a call from the home five days later.

She said: "I could tell something serious had happened - I knew instinctively my mum was dead."

Sven Hillman, a production specialist for Sweden-based Cibes, which built the lift, said the only fault found after Ms Lewis's death was a problem with the locking mechanism on the upper level.

Mr Hillman told the inquest the door on the second floor needed a new lock, adding that the lift should have been "turned off and locked up" until that was fitted.

The inquest continues.
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The Durable Mike Malloy

Mike Malloy, it turned out, shared with Rasputin the ability of being almost impossible to kill.

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/crime/durable-mike-malloy-article-1.226396

"In May 1933, gravediggers exhumed Mike Malloy's body from a 12-foot-deep pauper's plot in the charity section of Westchester County's Ferncliffe Cemetery. Lobar pneumonia, according to the death certificate, had killed him, but Bronx District Attorney Samuel Foley suspected otherwise.

The subsequent autopsy revealed the most clumsily executed insurance scam in New York City history. It also gave birth to an urban legend: Malloy, survivor of six murder attempts and who withstood alcohol and food laced with poison, proved indestructible - until a rubber tube placed in his mouth delivered enough carbon monoxide gas to end his life. That was the conclusion drawn by Dr. Harry Schwartz, the assistant city toxicologist who performed the autopsy."
 
Rasputin was quite easy to kill, but his murderers wanted their tale to sound heroic and made up all the business about him surviving all those attempts on his life.
 
Christopher Ogden found dead at recycling plant
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-leeds-21370803

Christopher Ogden's body was found by a worker at the paper recycling centre
A man's body has been found at a recycling plant after he climbed into an industrial waste bin in Huddersfield and fell asleep, police have said.

The body of Christopher Ogden, 23, from Elland, was found at the site on Valley Farm Road in Leeds on 24 January.

He is believed to have got into the bin near the bus station in Huddersfield town centre at about 04:45 GMT.

A worker at the Premier Paper Group recycling centre discovered the body several hours later.

An inquest into Mr Ogden's death is expected to be held in Huddersfield.

West Yorkshire Police are now urging the public to help them trace his last movements.

Det Sgt Neil King, of Huddersfield CID, said: "It is thought he fell asleep in an industrial bin before ending up at the plant, but officers want to find out the exact circumstances of how, where and when he entered it.

"We are particularly keen to speak to anyone out clubbing, taxi drivers, takeaway owners or anyone finishing or starting their shift at work at that time who might have seen a young man looking into or climbing on skips and bins around this time."

At the time he was wearing dark jeans, a blue short-sleeved shirt with a burgundy T-shirt underneath.
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Fisherman's Friends tour manager dies in G Live accident

The tour manager for the shanty group Fisherman's Friends has been killed in an accident at a music venue.
Paul McMullen, of Disley in Cheshire, died and singer Trevor Grills suffered critical injuries when a metal door fell at G Live in Guildford, Surrey.
The accident happened at 11:45 GMT on Saturday - hours before the Cornish-based group was due to perform

A statement issued on behalf of the group's management team said Mr Grills remained in hospital.
"There is no update on his condition," it added.
Darcus Beese, president of the group's label Island Records, said: "Everyone here is shocked by this tragic event, our hopes and prayers go out to the friends and families of those involved."

A statement from G Live said a serious accident had resulted "in the tragic death of a member of a touring visiting company's personnel".
"This is a terribly sad day and our thoughts are with the family of the deceased at this incredibly difficult time," it said.

Surrey Police is investigating and the Health and Safety Executive - which investigates work-based accidents - has been notified.
Police were called to the London Road venue just after 11:45 GMT on Saturday after a report that two men were trapped under a metal door.
Surrey Police said one of the men, Mr McMullen, suffered serious injuries to his legs and died at the scene.
Mr Grills was taken by ambulance to St George's Hospital in Tooting, south London, where he is in a critical condition.

Shirley Gladwin, a friend of one of the singers from the Port Isaac-based group, said: "It's very sad, because they are so popular and do so much for the village.
"They've brought this village alive. It's a very sad village today."

A spokesman for the group Said The Maiden said: "We are deeply saddened by the news of the accident in Guildford yesterday. Paul was an amazing man, who gave us a fabulous opportunity to sing for the Fisherman's Friends.
"We feel honoured and grateful to have been able to work with him. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family and the guys tonight."

Fans have posted tributes on the Fisherman's Friends' Facebook page.
One from Nicola Eastwood said: "We were due at the gig, so, so sorry to hear what happened. Tragic. Our love, thoughts and best wishes to everyone involved."

The Fisherman's Friends were given a £1m recording contract after being discovered by music industry bosses during a pub concert.
They have since performed at the Glastonbury Festival.

Ealing Studios is working on developing a film charting the rise of the a capella group.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-21401423

Sometimes a news story seems quite personal. I lived in Guildford as a boy; later Port Isaac was part of my CG patch; later still, living in Cornwall, I heard FF sing - and they are good shantymen.
 
:( Sad news, I really enjoy the FF's singing and when feeling home sick for Cornwall I listen to a few of their songs.
 
More bad news:

Fisherman's Friends' Trevor Grills dies after G Live accident

A Cornish shanty group singer injured in a music venue accident has died.
Fisherman's Friends singer Trevor Grills suffered critical injuries after being hit by a falling metal door at G Live in Guildford, Surrey, on Saturday.
The group said Mr Grills, 54, from Port Isaac, died of severe head injuries. He was described as a "much loved and valued friend".

Tour manager Paul McMullen, 44, from Disley in Cheshire, also died in the incident.

Police were called to the London Road venue just after 11:45 GMT on Saturday after a report that two men were trapped under a metal door in a loading bay.
The 10-piece group from Port Isaac were due on stage that evening.
Officers said Mr McMullen suffered serious injuries to his legs and died at the scene.
Mr Grills was taken by ambulance to St George's Hospital in south London.

The group said: "Trevor was a much loved and valued friend to all of us and was an integral part of the Port Isaac community.
"He will be sadly missed. Our thoughts are with Trevor's family at this very difficult time."

President of Island Records Darcus Beese added: "We are all deeply saddened at losing Trevor.
"The Fisherman's Friends are exactly that; life-long partners in all they do and our thoughts and prayers go out to them and Trevor's family and friends."

Members of the group gathered in Port Isaac on Monday to thank fans for their support after news of Mr Grills's injury spread.
However, his condition deteriorated and Surrey Police confirmed that he had died on Monday night at the hospital in Tooting.
Ian Brown, manager of Fisherman's Friends, told BBC News: "It's awful, he was a lovely man.
"It's a very close knit community in Port Isaac and we're just doing what we can to help the Fisherman's Friends and the families.
"Trevor was a very special person and will be sadly missed."

On the groups' Facebook page many people have started leaving tributes to Mr Grills.
Cate Bain wrote: "Our hearts are in Port Isaac right now and our love and deepest sympathy go to all the family and friends mourning such a terrible tragedy."

And Charlie Berman said: "Such an awful tragedy. Loss is something that fishing communities have long had to face but this is little solace at this moment. You must keep the music alive for him."

Mr McMullen has been called an "amazing man" by group Said The Maiden, which has worked with the singers.
"We feel honoured and grateful to have been able to work with him," said the group.

...

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-21426938
 
Coca-Cola drinking 'linked to New Zealander's death'
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-21423499

The coroner called on soft drinks firms to carry more warnings about the risks of sugar and caffeine

Drinking large quantities of Coca-Cola was a "substantial factor" in the death of a 30-year-old woman in New Zealand, a coroner has said.

Natasha Harris, who died three years ago after a cardiac arrest, drank up to 10 litres of the fizzy drink each day.

This is twice the recommended safe limit of caffeine and more than 11 times the recommended sugar intake.

Coca-Cola had argued that it could not be proved its product had contributed to Ms Harris' death.

The mother of eight, from the southern city of Invercargill, had suffered for years from ill health.

Her family said she had developed an addiction to Coca-Cola and would get withdrawal symptoms, including "the shakes", if she went without her favourite drink.

She drank Coke throughout her waking hours and her teeth had been removed because of decay.

Continue reading the main story
“
Start Quote

The fact that one or more of her children were born without enamel on their teeth should have been treated by her, and by her family, as a warning”

Coroner David Crerar
Coroner David Crerar said her Coca-Cola consumption had given rise to cardiac arrhythmia, a condition when the heart beats too fast or too slow.

"I find that when all the available evidence is considered, were it not for the consumption of very large quantities of Coke by Natasha Harris, it is unlikely that she would have died when she died and how she died," Mr Crerar's finding said.

The coroner calculated that drinking 10 litres (17.5 pints) of Coke amounted to more than 1kg (2.2lb) of sugar and 970mg of caffeine, Television New Zealand (TVNZ) reports.

Mr Crerar said that Coca-Cola could not be held responsible for the health of consumers who drank excessive quantities of its product.

But he called on soft drinks companies to display clearer warnings on their beverages about the risks of too much sugar and caffeine.

Ms Harris and her family should have heeded the warning signs about her ill health, the coroner added.

"The fact she had her teeth extracted several years before her death because of what her family believed was Coke induced tooth decay, and the fact that one or more of her children were born without enamel on their teeth, should have been treated by her, and by her family, as a warning," TVNZ quotes his statement as saying.
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10 litres of battery acid a day...no wonder, really.
 
Radio presenter found dead in derelict hostel

An aspiring film-maker believed to have been sleeping rough on the streets to document the plight of homeless people and the impact of the bedroom tax has been found dead in a derelict hostel just three days after embarking on his project.

Lee Halpin, 26, a radio presenter who edited an arts magazine and had completed a creative writing MA, was found in the boarded-up building in Newcastle-upon-Tyne after deciding to immerse himself for a week in the world of the those living on the streets in the city.

He was making the documentary after applying for a place on an investigative journalism scheme run by Channel 4, and hoped it would demonstrate the "fearless pursuit of a story" which the scheme required of applicants.
Click to expand...

etc

Halpin seems to have died of hypothermia, although two men have been arrested on suspicion of supplying drugs. Tragic, and bizarre.
 
I read (possibly on the Beeb, I'll have a looksee in a min) he wanted to completely immerse himself in the culture of homelessness. Which might go some way to explaining the drug supply issue. Isn't it true you can't get a GP without an address? So maybe he was self medicating.
 
There are NFA (No fixed abode) clinics, or were a year or two back when I last dealt with anyone who was 'homeless', actually he was in a hostel but that leaves one in the same position afaik of not having an address.

I have no idea how easy they are to access compared to the usual GP practice.
 
If he had drugs they were were illegal ones. That's why two men were mentioned as arrested in connection with his death.
If he took drugs that he wasn't used to he may have collapsed before he could get to somewhere warm to sleep. People who sell illegal drugs wouldn't be staying around to tuck him in.

If he was staying in a hostel but was found dead in a derelict building, maybe he'd decided to try something out that he knew he wouldn't be allowed to in the hostel, where drugs and drink are forbidden.

All speculation, of course.

He wanted a story, and he got it. :(
 
Very sad, really - being homeless doesn't necessarily mean being drunk or high on drugs. He really should have done his homework about how people survive on the streets.
 
London plane fall man identified as Jose Matada

A man who fell to his death in west London from the undercarriage of an aeroplane has been identified.

The body of 30-year-old Jose Matada was found in Portman Avenue, Mortlake, in September but his identity has remained a mystery until now.

Police originally thought he was Angolan due to the currency found on his body but have established he was in fact from Mozambique.

A Sim card found in his pocket was used to help establish his identity.

Detectives analysed the card and rang the phone numbers that were stored on it.
Click to expand...

etc

Poor man fell from a plane, after stowing away (probably clinging to a wheel) in the hope of a better life.
 
If two aged women die, it would be expected. But why are the Police taking an interest here?

Builth Wells mother, 107, and daughter, 69, found dead

Police are investigating the deaths of a 107-year-old woman and her 69-year-old daughter in Powys.
The two women have been named locally as Barbara Innes and daughter Griselda Folkard from Builth Wells.

Dyfed-Powys Police said the bodies were found at their home in the town shortly after 10:00 BST on Monday.
Post-mortem examinations have taken place and inquiries are continuing but officers are not looking for anyone else in connection with the deaths.
An inquest has been opened and adjourned after hearing the causes of the deaths were "unascertained".

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-mid-wales-22128224
 
I guess this is the best thread for this one...

Texas inmate shouts 'Wow' during execution

...Just before the lethal drug took effect and at the conclusion of his statement, Cobb twisted his head back, raised it off a pillow placed on the gurney and then toward the warden standing behind him.

"Wow!" the inmate exclaimed in a loud voice. "That is great. That is awesome! Thank you, warden! Thank you (expletive) warden!"

His head fell back on the pillow, and his neck twisted at an odd angle, with his mouth and eyes open.
Click to expand...

http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/04 ... ution?lite
 
They probably gave him a shot of morphine or something before injecting the poison.
 
I saw this story first thing this morning, but it's since been updated with more info.

Cornwall speedboat crash victim was BSkyB executive

A man who died in a speedboat crash off the north Cornish coast, which also killed his daughter, was a senior executive at BSkyB.
Nick Milligan, 51, and his eight-year-old daughter were among six people thrown from the boat in the Camel Estuary, off Padstow on Sunday.
Four other family members, thought to have been hit by the boat, are in hospital with serious injuries.

The vessel was stopped after a local waterskiing instructor jumped on board.
The injured family members are thought to have been hit by the boat while it was going round in circles.
The four injured are a 39-year-old woman, a four-year-old boy and two girls aged 10 and 12. They suffered leg injuries of varying degrees of severity, John Oliver from South Western Ambulance Service said.

The boat is owned by the family, who are from Wandsworth in south London, and are believed to have a holiday home in the area.
Mr Milligan had been managing director of Sky's advertising sales division, Sky Media, since 2004.
A company spokesperson said: "Everyone at Sky is deeply shocked and saddened to learn of the tragic accident involving the Milligan family.
"Nick has been a great friend and colleague for many years and his loss will be felt across our company and the industry. Our very deepest sympathies are with his family at this time."

Police and marine investigators have begun an inquiry into the incident, co-ordinated by Devon and Cornwall Police.
Supt Jim Colwell said some of the injuries were "life threatening" as well as "life changing".
"The key lines of enquiry are primarily witness enquiries, those eye witnesses that were at the scene at the time and have already started to provide us with information as to what the circumstances were and what the boat was doing at the time of the incident," he said.

Supt Colwell said a mechanical examination of the boat, with the involvement of the Marine Action Investigation Branch, would take place "just to make sure there were no factors to do with the vessel itself which may have caused this incident".

The sunny bank holiday weather had drawn a lot of visitors to the harbourside, and the surrounding waters of the Camel Estuary were said to have been calm on Sunday afternoon when the accident happened.
At about 15:50 BST, Falmouth Coastguard received a number of reports from members of the public that six people had been thrown from a speedboat.
They reported seeing the boat "out of control for a short time" and striking some other boats, Jo Rawlings, from the Maritime and Coastguard Agency, told the BBC.

Dog walker Simon Lewins, from Wadebridge, said he watched as a big, powerful boat going "a bit too fast" suddenly turned right, "depositing" people into the water.
"It kept going off in ever decreasing circles. The screams coming from the people in the water were pretty bad."

The man who leapt on to the out-of-control speedboat, from another vessel he went alongside with, was named locally as Charlie Toogood, from Camel Ski School.
It is thought Mr Toogood got a rope around the propeller of the out-of-control vessel in a bid to reduce its speed before jumping on board.
He then managed to stop it and take it away.
"I tell you what, this guy is a hero," Mr Lewins told the BBC.

Coastguards then helped some of the injured as a helicopter landed on the beach, he added.
The injured were being treated at Derriford Hospital in Plymouth, the Maritime and Coastguard Agency said.

Matt Pavitt, the Coastguard sector manager for North Cornwall, said the injured four were "badly shaken up".

Cornwall Coastguard Matt Pavitt : "Someone managed to get on the boat... and prevent further loss of life"
He said the 8m (26ft) long vessel had a "very, very powerful engine" and there were reports it was "seen to veer over to one side, causing all six people to end up in the water", resulting in a number of serious injuries.

Alex Greig, of Falmouth Coastguard, said safety features in such vessels usually included a so-called "kill cord".
He said: "If somebody is thrown away from the console, it should disable the engine.
"But if it's not working, or not being worn correctly, there is the chance that if you are thrown away from the boat, it will continue to move under its own power.
"The way an outboard engine works, because it hangs loose on the back of the boat, it will actually put the boat into a very tight circle and continue round at the speed it was left going at originally."

Coastguards said the was no speed limit in the area where control was lost of the boat.

Investigators appealed for anyone with photographs or video clips to come forward.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cornwall-22423877

There was no mention of a kill-cord in the original story, but that was one of the first things I wondered about.

The tide was fairly high at the time, but that can be deceptive - you might think there's water everywhere, but some of the sand banks might only just be covered, so maybe the boat's prop hit the bottom and caused the 'capsize'. But if the family had a holiday home there, they should have been familiar with the waters.
 
Still No Explanation for Horrific Limo Fire

As of Monday, California authorities still don’t know what caused a 1999 white Lincoln stretch limousine to burst into flames on a San Francisco bridge Saturday night, killing five women inside, including a new bride. Four other women in the car, as well as the driver, were able to escape.
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etc

I can't understand why the passengers were trying to climb out of tiny windows instead of just opening the doors and stepping out.
Could the back doors have been locked? What a dreadful thought. :(
 
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