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Cruise passenger was victim of incompetence - son

Chris Purkess Janet PurkessChris Purkess
Janet Purkess died while on a Caribbean cruise in 2020

A cruise ship passenger who was crushed to death by a reversing truck on a quay was the victim of a "perfect storm of incompetence", her son has said.

Janet Purkess, 87, from Lyndhurst, Hampshire, was run over after leaving the Saga Sapphire in Barbados in 2020.

Chris Purkess said errors by Saga, the driver and the port were compounded by an "appallingly poor" police inquiry.

Saga said it was aiding an ongoing inquest into the death. The Barbados authorities have been asked to comment.

Chris Purkess Chris PurkessChris Purkess
Chris Purkess said combined incompetence led to his mother's death

Mrs Purkess was run over by a lorry that was helping to refuel the ship on 25 January, the inquest in Portsmouth previously heard.

Her son, who interrogated Saga and ship safety officials at the hearing, said the experience had been an "emotional rollercoaster".

Outside the court, Mr Purkess said the lorry driver was "unlicensed, uninsured and reversed at speed in a 'not fit for purpose' 10-wheel truck right over mum causing truly horrific injuries".

He said the port of Bridgetown failed to provide security personnel to look after disembarking passengers.

Saga Saga SapphireSaga
The Saga Sapphire had made an unscheduled stop in Barbados to refuel, the inquest heard

Saga and the ship's captain allowed people off the ship into an "unsafe environment", he added.

"It was.. a perfect storm of incompetence. All of which has been underpinned by an appallingly poor police investigation, who... did not pursue key eyewitness evidence," Mr Purkess said.

Police did not interview witnesses from the ship because the death occurred on the quayside, coroner Rosamund Rhodes-Kemp told the hearing on Wednesday.

She adjourned the inquest until after the lorry driver's trial in Barbados which is scheduled for 23 June.

In a statement, Saga said: "Our deepest sympathies remain with the Purkess family over their terrible loss.

"We are fully supportive of this inquest and we have worked with all relevant authorities during this process. We will continue to provide all possible assistance to the coroner in the UK."

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