Mother of three dies in freak accident after she fell off cruise ship and was sucked into its propeller
NORFOLK, ENGLAND: A mother of three who fell from a cruise ship died after getting "sucked" into its propeller. An inquest heard that Laura Perry was flung from the 42-foot boat in Norfolk after the family received "cursory" instructions on handling it. The 38-year-old lost her footing when the pleasure cruiser hit a bulkhead after she entered her cabin to comfort her weeping child.
Meanwhile, a mooring rope washed overboard and entangled Perry and the propeller. Perry's sister, who was operating one of the boat's two helms, could have saved her sister's life by pushing the emergency stop button, a Daily Mail report claimed. However, the woman was apparently unaware of the button's location.
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'Cursory and incomplete'
Perry's sister did not see the six-minute instructional film, and the handover was deemed "cursory and incomplete" by the Marine Accident Investigation Branch. According to them, it was "imperative" that it be "complete and vigorous" to guarantee users could handle the boat securely.
'No one fully understood the controls'
According to Graham Wilson, deputy head inspector for the MAIB, "No one on board fully understood the functionality of the dual helm controls and the driver was unaware of the upper engine stop button." Perry died on August 19, 2020, while on vacation with her partner James Allen, their three sons, aged 16, 14, and 4, as well as her sister, parents, and 16-year-old niece.
The ship left Horning, Norfolk's Ferry Marina boatyard, for a five-day vacation and was sailing down the River Bure toward Great Yarmouth. Before her sister took control of the upper helm, Perry's eldest son was at the helm in the cabin, being watched by his father.
Wilson told the hearing, "Laura walked aft on the upper deck and climbed down the stairs. She started to go through the door to tend to her son, who was crying below. Sadly, at the exact moment, she opened the aft door, that is when the Diamond Emblem 1 hit the wall quite heavily. It bounces off the wall and, at that point, Laura is thrown violently backwards into the water," as reported by Daily Star.
'Almost like a perfect storm'
"It's almost like a perfect storm," said Yvonne Blake, the coroner for the Norfolk region, "with the rope falling into the water at the same time." Both her partner and sister dove into the sea to try to save her, but they couldn't. She drowned and suffered numerous injuries, according to a post-mortem study.