Boat passenger fell through gap

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The Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) said the Hurlingham drifted from Westminster pier after the skipper left the wheelhouse to tidy up after a party onboard on August 17 last year.

His mate, who had been supervising passengers as they left, went to manoeuvre the boat.

The report said: "No gangway was used and passengers were allowed to continue disembarking unsupervised while the boat was put back into position."

The MAIB said after the stern was brought back into the pier, "a gap opened up between the front of the boat and the pier at the point where passengers were disembarking".

It added: "One passenger stepped forward and fell into the gap."

An initial search failed to find the man who was later identified by Scotland Yard as Adrian Jair Hernandez Murillo, 32, a Mexican national living in Southwark, London.

Mr Murillo's body was recovered five days later and a post-mortem examination found he had drowned.

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". It added that the boat "was not adequately secured" by the single mooring line at the bow which tied it to Westminster pier.

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