A fatal accident inquiry has concluded that four men who drowned in Loch Awe in March 2009 had been drinking, were poorly equipped, and failed to take safety precautions. The men – William Carty, 47, his brother Steven, 42, Thomas Douglas, 36, and Craig Currie, 30 – all from Glasgow, fell from a small boat in the early hours of 21 March. Their boat is believed to have capsized in heavy fog as they returned from a pub on the opposite side of the loch.
Sheriff Douglas Small, who presided over the inquiry at Oban Sheriff Court, ruled that the deaths were due to cold water immersion. He stated that the tragedy might have been avoided if the men had worn properly secured life jackets, had not consumed alcohol before taking the boat out, and had instead called for a lift from the pub. The sheriff also noted that the boat was never recovered, preventing any specific findings about the cause of the capsize.
The inquiry highlighted several shortcomings in emergency response procedures. Sheriff Small found that there was no register of local assistance available for rescue services, and communication difficulties hampered the emergency crews. He also noted that Strathclyde Fire Service crew members were not individually equipped with life jackets at the time, and the fire service boat lacked physical markers to identify areas where debris and bodies were found.
The sheriff made several recommendations, including that Strathclyde Police establish a register of local assistance, that police radios be provided to Maritime and Coastguard personnel during emergencies, and that all fire service vehicles carry life jackets for each crew member. He also called for fire service boats to carry markers and for a communications protocol to be drawn up for water rescue operations.
Despite these criticisms, Sheriff Small commended the emergency services for their efforts, stating there was no evidence to suggest any fault in their response. Strathclyde Fire and Rescue assistant chief officer David Goodhew expressed condolences to the families and said the service was working to implement the sheriff's recommendations, particularly regarding inter-agency cooperation.
