UK newsStudent killed as human catapult sport goes wrong
Police and safety officials yesterday began an investigation into the death of a student who was flung 50 feet into the air from a human catapult and fell inches short of a safety net.
Dino Yankov, 19, died after the accident on Sunday afternoon at Middle Moor Water Park near Bridgwater, Somerset.
The machine did not need a licence to operate and had not been subject to any independent safety check, officials confirmed yesterday.
Mr Yankov was a first year biochemistry student at Oxford University and was at the park with the Oxford Stunt Factory, a club for enthusiasts of dangerous sports.
He was treated at the scene by a medic before being airlifted to Bristol Frenchay hospital suffering serious spinal and leg injuries. He died during the evening.
After being flung into the air from the catapult he was supposed to land on a net 30 feet above the ground.
The catapult's owner, David Aitkenhead, said Mr Yankov clipped the net's edge: "For the first two-thirds of the throw it seemed on course. Then for some reason it appeared that he decelerated and went more straight down than along."
People are supposed to land in the centre of the net, but Mr Yankov fell 10m short of that point.
Mr Yankov was the sixth person to have been flung from the catapult on Sunday, and had paid £20. A total of 50 people have used it, and all have hit the safety net, though one person was injured after bouncing off.
David Boston, committee member for the independent non-mainstream sports club which organised the trip for 20 people, said: "It had been tested. All the safety checks and test weights had been done to judge distances and then this happened.
"He was a fantastic guy. He had done a lot of jumps for charity, was friendly, intelligent and as brave as a bull."
Mr Yankov was from Plovdiv in Bulgaria, where his family heard the news of his death.
He went to school near Reading, Berkshire, before winning a place at Wadham College, Oxford, whose flag flew at half mast yesterday.
John Flemming, warden of Wadham College, said: "He was into personal fitness and made reference to his enthusiasm for adventurous sports in his application. He had had some experience of bungee jumping and was keen to do some kayaking."
Mr Flemming was critical of the activity of human catapulting: "No one knows if there was a one in a million machinery failure or something more gratuitous."
The health and safety executive and Avon and Somerset police are investigating the death.
An HSE spokeswoman said the machine did not need a licence but it did fall under health and safety legislation and the people operating it would have a duty to ensure it was safe.
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