Opklaringen af alvorlige ulykker er i krise

Der var giftige gasser i lastrummet på en fiskekutter en sen sommeraften i 2014 på Strandby Havn. Få timer senere var der to døde og to alvorligt hjerneskadede. Selvom det er en af de alvorligste ulykker i nyere tid, er omstændighederne dårligt belyst. Abstract in english: There were toxic gases in the hull of a fishing vessel a late summer evening in 2014 at Strandby Havn, Denmark.

A few hours later there were two dead fishermen, an injured would-be rescuer and an injured emergency responder. For both individuals, the injury resulted in serious permanent brain damage. Although it is one of the more serious accidents in recent time, only modest factual evidence of the circumstances is available.

For legal reasons, the HSE inspectors are obliged to terminate the accident investigation the moment they believe the case might result in criminal prosecution. While legally defensible, the paper argues that this HSE practice is poor. The paper also argues that the suction pump unit that unloaded the catch might have transported toxic gases from the hull to the work area at the quay.