Jamie Lee Sawyer Died in March 2015 While Deployed On A UN Peacekeeping Tour In Cyprus

The mother of a soldier killed while adventure training during a tour in Cyprus has called for lessons to be learned after a coroner ruled that safety failures contributed to her son’s death.

Jamie Lee Sawyer, 20, known as “Jay,” from Tile Cross, Birmingham died during an adventure training exercise in turbulent waters on March 12, 2015 while deployed on a United Nations peacekeeping tour in Cyprus.

British kayaking instructor, David Hughes, 48, was charged with causing death by a dangerous or reckless act and appeared before a Famagusta District Court, in Cyprus, for trial in May last year – proceedings which were halted after a Judge ruled that there was insufficient evidence to continue with the prosecution.

Jay’s mother Tracy Sawyer instructed expert military inquest lawyers at Irwin Mitchell to help support her with the investigation into the circumstances behind Jay’s accident.

Delivering a narrative conclusion today, coroner Louise Hunt, said Jay drowned after he capsized and was then overcome by large waves during a thunderstorm.

She said “His death was contributed to by a failure to adequately assess the weather forecast before the event began which predicted wind strength of force 4-5 gusting 6-7 gales, a failure to ensure that thunderstorm warnings were provided to TRATT (TOSCA Regimental Adventurous Training Team) and a failure to ensure that the generic and daily risk assessments covered specific hazards specifically adverse sea conditions in poor weather.”

Tracy said: “Today’s findings have gone some way to providing the answers the failed criminal proceedings could not and I sincerely hope that lessons can be learned so that no other soldier dies in similar circumstances.

She said: “Jay was the best son and brother we could ever have asked for. We are deeply proud of him and feel his loss deeply. He was devoted to his family and to the military and as a result of what happened has been taken from both.

“Not having answers has been the greatest agony since being told of his death. We had hoped the criminal trial would have provided us with an explanation and when it didn’t we looked to the inquest instead. Even though hearing of his final moments has been painful, it is a relief to finally know what happened to Jay.

“All I hope for now is that lessons are learned and safety measures improved so it doesn’t happen again to anyone else.”

Jay, a chef with the Royal Logistics Corps, was attached to the 2nd Battalion Battlegroup while deployed as part of the UN’s peacekeeping tour and was kayaking in the Mediterranean sea off Cavo Greco in Famagusta on the day he died.

He was part of a group of amateur rowers on the Army-run beginners' adventure training kayaking course.

The inquest heard that their experienced civilian instructor, David Hughes, took the group out to sea despite a weather forecast warning of wind gusts.

Two emergency weather warnings of thunderstorms in the area had not been passed on to those running the group, made up of armed forces personnel.

The hearing listened to evidence from Army meteorologist Robin Dempster who said thunderstorms could potentially see waves reaching a height of up to 2.5 metres, as the waters near the coastline became turbulent.

The inquest into the 20-year-old’s death heard that it took Cypriot police 25 minutes to alert a nearby force rescue boat to get to the area.

When the boat arrived off Cavo Greco at about 2.33pm, Greek police could see Jay struggling in the water but were unable to get a rescue line to him for 10 minutes.

He was taken to hospital, after being given CPR en route, but died after arriving.

Irwin Mitchell has a specialist national team that regularly acts for soldiers and their families who are injured or killed abroad.

Expert Opinion

“When Tracy said goodbye to Jay before he embarked on his mission with the UN, Tracy believed he would be safe. To lose him during an adventure training exercise is something she is still struggling to come to terms with.

“Our servicemen and women know when they sign-up that compared to most jobs theirs is one with increased danger, but we have seen first-hand that many serious accidents in training could be prevented.

“Obviously military training needs to be robust and realistic to prepare our troops for conflict, but it is vital that there is adequate protection for soldiers to prevent tragedy.

“We will now be reviewing the coroner’s findings with Tracy and advising her on the next steps available to her.” Andrew Buckham - Partner

Read more about Irwin Mitchell's Military Injuries Team here