‘Emotional' outpouring from Ukraine after death of British bomb disposal expert

Independent

09-05-2025

The death of a British bomb disposal expert who was killed while clearing landmines has prompted an 'emotional' outpouring from communities in Ukraine, his friend and colleague has said.
Christopher Garrett, originally from the Isle of Man, died following an explosion in the eastern European country, where he co-founded charity Prevail to provide bomb disposal, trauma care and humanitarian aid.
A fundraiser launched to support the family of the 40-year-old, who had a one-year-old daughter, raised more than 10,000 US dollars (£7,543) within a day of being launched.
Shaun Pinner, spokesman and ambassador for Prevail, told the PA news agency: 'Chris was a talisman. He was driven by the injustices Russia are doing here.
'He brought mine awareness to children through to adults and had knowledge which will be deeply missed.
'The outpouring has been really emotional. Local communities have all reached out to us.
'He knew everyone in the military and police as well as all the civilian communities.
'The amount of lives he has saved, I can't count them. He's pulled out tons and tons of mines.'
Mr Pinner said his colleague was doing 'probably the most dangerous job in the most dangerous place in the world'.
An investigation is now ongoing into the explosion near Izyum on Tuesday, which also killed one of Mr Garrett's colleagues, an Australian national, and injured a third man.
Mr Pinner said the work of Prevail, of which Mr Garrett was chairman, would carry on.
'We will continue his legacy,' he said.
'We will continue to move forward. We're going to have to restrict part of it because we've lost a very capable guy but the humanitarian side of it will keep going and we'll look to regroup.
'The charity is called Prevail and the name says it all.'
The GoFundMe page set up in memory of Mr Garrett, also known as Swampy, will cover repatriation and funeral costs, with any additional money raised going to his partner, charity co-founder Courtney Pollock, and their daughter.
A message on the site said: 'We will miss him acutely. His legacy and his hard work will forever Prevail.'
According to his profile on the Prevail website, Mr Garrett volunteered in Myanmar for humanitarian efforts and had been heavily involved in work in Ukraine since 2014, including providing mine risk education, clearance training and support to military, police and emergency services.
A spokesman for the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) said: 'We are supporting the family of a British man who died in Ukraine and are in contact with the local authorities.'