Brecon Beacons deaths: police to interview almost 100 army personnel

More than 20 detectives working on inquiry into deaths of three army reservists in July heatwave, pre-inquest hearing told

The father of one of three army reservists who died while taking part in an SAS test in the Brecon Beacons has called for lessons to be learned to prevent another similar tragedy happening in the future.

It also emerged during a preliminary inquest hearing that detectives intend to interview almost 100 trainees, soldiers and officers who were on the mountain at the time or involved in the planning of the exercise.

Dyfed Powys police, which is in charge of investigating the deaths, has classed the operation as a “major crime” inquiry because of its scale, and has more than 20 detectives working to establish what went wrong.

Edward Maher and James Dunsby, both 31, and Craig Roberts, 24, died after taking part in the exercise on Pen y Fan, the highest mountain in southern Britain, as temperatures soared to 30C.

Postmortem tests are still being carried out to establish the causes of the men’s deaths but witnesses described soldiers on the mountain in south Wales pleading for water from passersby.

At the pre-inquest review hearing in Aberdare, the Powys coroner, Louise Hunt, said a full inquest would look at whether article two of the Human Rights Act, covering the right to life, had been contravened and whether there had been any failings by those in charge of the soldiers.

She said the scope of the inquest would include the cause of death, the preparation and planning of the exercise, the support and monitoring provided and the emergency procedures that were in place.

Maher’s father, also named Edward, who was in court, said he expected that the question of how such a tragedy could be prevented in the future would also be considered. He asked that the chain of command be examined.

Hunt assured him that she was obliged by law to pass on any information that could prevent future deaths, and added that the chain of command issue would be covered when the inquest looked at preparation and planning.

The police investigation is based at an incident room in Brecon within sight of Pen y Fan. Detective Inspector Iwan Jones, of Dyfed Powys police, told the hearing that initially officers had only planned to speak to military personnel who had direct contact with the men who died.

But now they aim to speak to between 94 and 96 personnel who were on the mountain or involved in the exercise. Jones told the coroner there were “logistical problems” because many of them were abroad. So far about half have been questioned.

The police, who are working alongside the Health and Safety Executive, are also speaking to around 15 members of the emergency services. The force is liaising with the Crown Prosecution Service over its inquiry.

A lawyer was present to represent a member of Dunsby’s family. Nobody from Roberts’ family was at the half-hour hearing.

The three men died after taking part in the exercise in July. It is understood they were taking …read more