Thames boat skipper was 'in bar' as man drowned

The captain of a Thames pleasure boat was busy running the vessel's bar when a passenger fell overboard to his death, a Marine Accident Investigation Branch report said today.

Restaurant worker Jair Fernandes Murillo, 32, drowned when he fell into a gap between the Hurlingham and Westminster Pier on 17 August last year. His body was not recovered from the river for five days.

Mr Murillo, who worked for Leon's fast-food health restaurant chain, had been on a company outing.

The report said the skipper "was distracted from his primary responsibilities of ensuring the safety of the vessel and passengers by other duties concerning the running of the licensed bar and by tidying up after the party".

The MAIB report also said the Hurlingham was "not adequately secured" when a single mooring line at the bow was used to attach it to the pier.

A Metropolitan Police spokesman said that two men, aged 60 and 23, who were arrested in September last year on suspicion of manslaughter, remain on police bail until next month.