HM Coroner to enquire into loss of life following sinking of Argos Georgia
Judge Malcolm Simmons
Nine bodies have been recovered. Four crew members are still missing.
The bodies of the deceased crew arrived in the Falkland Islands on 25th July 2024 on board the FV Puerto Torro and the Robin M Lee.
HM Coroner, Malcolm Simmons, stated "First of all I should like to extend my sincere condolences to the family, friends and colleagues of those crew members of the Argos Georgia who so tragically lost their lives. I can confirm that my office received the bodies of nine deceased. Upon their arrival in Stanley on 25th July, my specially-trained Disaster Victim Identification team commenced the process of formally identifying each of the deceased. That process continued into the night and resumed the following morning, using a standardised Interpol procedure."
Throughout the weekend, staff of HM Coroners Office worked to collate information and documentation that would assist in the identification process.
Upon the instruction of Malcolm Simmons, on 30th July, the deceased were flown to RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire and from there were taken to the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford. Post Mortem examinations and other investigations are currently be carried out in order to confirm the identity of each of the deceased.
Malcolm Simmons stated "The procedure to identify each of the deceased is proceeding well and we expect to complete that process in the coming days. We are in communication with the embassies of those deceased and missing and we are receiving excellent cooperation."
His Honour Judge Malcolm Simmons3 is a UK-qualified lawyer and judge. Currently, he is Resident judge and His Majesty’s Coroner of the Falkland Islands, South Georgia, South Sandwich Islands and the British Antarctic Territory. Judge Simmons has served as an international judge for 20 years. In 2004, he was appointed an international judge of the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina, assigned to the war crime and serious organised crime panels. In 2008 he was appointed an international judge of the Supreme Court of Kosovo and presided in many war crimes and serious organised crime cases. In 2014, he was appointed President of EU international judges. Judge Simmons has also served on judicial councils in Bosnia & Herzegovina and Kosovo. In addition to his judicial role, since 2017, Judge Simmons has been an international justice adviser and has worked in Maldives, Pakistan and Serbia.
Judge Simmons was recently Team Leader of the successful European Union project, a four-year project launched in February 2019 to provide technical assistance to targeted institutions and actors in the Maldives (both governmental and non-governmental) to strengthen rule of law, support justice reform and fight corruption and organised crime. He was subsequently invited by the European External Action Service to advise in drafting its continuing engagement with the judicial authorities in Maldives.
Edward Montague
Edward Montague Associates
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1 https://judge-malcolm-simmons.com/hm-coroner-to-enquire-into-loss-of-life-following-sinking-of-argos-georgia/
2 https://judge-malcolm-simmons.com/hm-coroner-to-enquire-into-loss-of-life-following-sinking-of-argos-georgia/
3 https://judge-malcolm-simmons.com/hm-coroner-to-enquire-into-loss-of-life-following-sinking-of-argos-georgia/
