Fisherman died after being struck by net pulley
AYOUNG fisherman died after he was struck by a piece of pulley equipment while working on board a Belgian-registered trawler off the coast of Salcombe, in Devon, an inquest has heard.
The public hearing, held by area coroner Alison Longhorn at Devon Coroner’s Court in Exeter’s County Hall, was told that Michael Hubert, aged 23, was a married fisherman at the time of his death.
He was working on board the Stormvogel trawler on December 19, 2023, in international waters around 27 nautical miles south west of Salcombe at the time of the incident.
Ms Longhorn said Mr Hubert was struck by a piece of pulley equipment. HM Coastguard were alerted and attended, but Mr Hubert was pronounced deceased on the boat. His body was later landed at the Salcombe lifeboat station.
The medical cause of death was given as blunt injury to the head, neck and chest. She adjourned the hearing, and a full inquest will take place at a later date.
According to reports from an industry website, Fishing Daily, the boat is part of the Flemish Fisheries Cooperative, in Ostend. There were five people on board at the time of the accident. One report stated that Mr Hubert, who was born in Ostend, Belgium, was a father of two young daughters.
The website reported in January that while working “a safety line unexpectedly snapped. This resulted in the part to which the nets were attached crashing down, proving fatal for Michael Hubert, a father of two daughters, who succumbed on the spot. His colleague Ilir Devick sustained serious injuries”.
A separate inquest has heard how a man from Liskeard died after he was pulled from the cold waters of Plymouth’s Sutton Harbour in February.
The passing of 18-year-old Jaeden Penney was recorded at a public hearing at Exeter County Hall held by area coroner Alison Longhorn.
Ms Longhorn noted that Jaeden was born in Plymouth and resided at a property in Liskeard, Cornwall. She stated that he died at Plymouth’s Derriford Hospital on February 18.
She said shouts were heard from the water at Sutton Harbour and emergency services were called to the scene, arriving in time to find members of the public pulling Jaeden from the water.
Devon and Cornwall Police has said officers were called “at around 4.15am on February 18 following a report of a male struggling to keep afloat”.
At the inquest opening, Ms Longhorn said that on the current evidence the medical cause of death was given as immersion in cold water. She adjourned the hearing, and a full inquest will take place at a later date.