Boat owner guilty of manslaughter after worker's death

From the archive, first published Thursday 15th Feb 2007.

A BOAT owner has been convicted of manslaughter after the death of his employee in an explosion at a Southampton boatyard.

Jurors at Winchester Crown Court found Philip Wyman, 61, guilty of the charge today after nearly two days of deliberation.

They were not asked for a verdict on alternative charges of breaching health and safety laws over the death of Krisztian Takacs, 26, in August 2005.

Hungarian-born Mr Takacs had been employed by Wyman, formerly of Ranelagh Road in Weymouth, to smelt lead for a new keel on a boat he was repairing at Smith's Quay in Southampton when a fire started aboard the boat and caused a propane gas canister to explode in a 300m high fireball.

Wyman was remanded in custody and will be sentenced next month.

For more on this story see tomorrow's Daily Echo.