MAIB confirm carbon monoxide poisoning in Lake Windermere tragedy
MAIB issues Safety Bulletin following fatal carbon monoxide poisoning.
The MAIB has issued Safety Bulletin 2/2013 today (24 May) following carbon monoxide poisoning on board the Bayliner 285 motor cruiser Arniston on Windermere, Cumbria resulting in two fatalities.
The Easter bank holiday weekend on board an 11 year old Bayliner 285 motor cruiser ended tragically when a mother and her 10 year old daughter died.
Exhaust fumes spread
The initial findings of the MAIB are that exhaust fumes spread from the engine bay into the cabin when an improvised exhaust and silencer became detached from a ‘suitcase’ style portable petrol-engine generator which had been installed to supply the boat with 240v power.
As a result, the generator’s exhaust fumes filled the engine bay and spread through gaps in an internal bulkhead into the aft cabin where the mother and daughter were asleep.
When the owner of the boat awoke in the boat’s forward cabin, he was suffering from carbon monoxide poisoning but was able to raise the alarm. The mother and daughter could not be revived.
The boat’s carbon monoxide sensor system did not alarm because it was not connected to a power supply.
The important safety information is that portable generators are usually intended for use in the open air and that the use or permanent installation of these engines on boats, particularly in enclosed spaces or below decks, increases the risk of carbon monoxide poisoning.
Carbon monoxide can kill without warning
The RYA endorses the Boat Safety Scheme message that ‘It’s critical that boaters wise-up to the potential dangers of carbon monoxide. It cannot be seen, smelt, tasted, or felt and in high concentrations, CO can kill without warning, sometimes in only minutes.’
Prevention is key to staying safe
Prevention is the key to staying safe, equipment needs to be properly installed, well maintained and used according to the instructions.
‘Our belt and braces advice is to fit a CO alarm approved to BS EN 50291; these are best suited for boats’.
‘CO alarms and/or their batteries should be replaced if they do not work when tested, or if the replacement date marked on the alarm has passed’.
Read the MAIB bulletin
Read the latest advice for boaters from the Boat Safety Scheme.