INVESTIGATIONS into the death of a teenage construction worker at a Finnish nuclear plant are still going on nearly two years after he plunged down a manhole.
Kevin Horner, 19, from Hartlepool, was working on the construction site in Olkiluoto, in Finland, when he fell 30ft down the hole on Monday, September 18, 2007.
He had been working on the site for only seven days with his uncle, Paul Jarrington.
Mr Horner was taken to a hospital 30 miles away in the city of Pori, where he was treated for head injuries.
He spent four days on a life support machine but died on September 22 from bronchial pneumonia.
Investigations into the circumstances surrounding his death are said to be ongoing in Finland, but the inquest into his death was closed at Hartlepool Coroner's Court yesterday.
Hartlepool coroner Malcolm Donnelly said: "I understand safety investigations and possibly criminal proceedings may be ongoing in Finland, but I have no authority to compel people in Finland to help with my inquiries."
Mr Donnelly, who recorded a narrative verdict, said: "Kevin Horner died from injuries sustained from a fall while working as a construction worker in Finland."
His uncle, Mr Jarrington, 45, from Suffolk, was Mr Horner's foreman on the Rimec Group building site and was there when he fell through boards covering a manhole.
Mr Jarrington said: "Investigations are happening in Finland so I do not wish to comment."
