Probe into hotel gas death intensifies

INVESTIGATIONS into a Co Cork hotel death of a woman from suspected carbon monoxide poisoning intensified yesterday after the Health and Safety Authority announced it was launching a full-scale probe.

Up to now the HSA has reportedly played only a peripheral role in investigations at the Trident Hotel in Kinsale, Co Cork.

Gardaí and a consultant engineer from Britain spent the past week examining likely sources of the “silent killer” gas which is believed to have killed 35-year-old Miriam Reidy.

The full-scale investigation comes after an unconfirmed report that the hotel’s boiler system was serviced just four days prior to a suspected gas leak at the hotel.

According to the report, the hotel’s gas boiler was serviced on January 5 and an engineer, who made checks, was questioned by gardaí last week.

A spokesman for the HSA said: “We now have a full investigation under way and will be working closely with the gardaí.”

Well-placed sources believe the hotel could remain closed for business for several months before investigators unravel the exact cause of the tragedy.

A source said yesterday: “Because there has been a fatality, this is very complex. Every single detail has to be checked. More experts might need to be drafted in, plenty of evidence will need to be gathered and more reports will need to be written. I’ve never known of another fatality investigation such as this to have been wrapped up in just a couple of weeks. It could take months.

“Up to now the HSA hasn’t really been involved in the investigation, with just a few visits to the scene by senior inspectors. But now they are satisfied there is enough reason for them to launch a full-scale investigation too.”

The hotel’s gas-fired heating and boiler system remains the main focus of attention for investigators.

Since the tragedy, there has also been much speculation as to whether the hotel was recently equipped with new boilers or whether the fault lay with the existing boiler system. But hotel management has declined to comment while investigations continue at the 75-room hotel which remained closed last night.