An inquest into the death of a seasonal farm worker who died following a porta-cabin fire on a farm in Grouville has heard that police are not treating the incident as suspicious.

George Michael Monte De Ramos Castrudes, who is originally from the Philippines, was rescued from his burning accommodation on Sunday 19 January.

The 37-year-old farm worker was treated at the scene on La Rue au Blancq before being handed over to paramedics and taken to the General Hospital.

Mr Castrudes passed away on Thursday 23 January in the Intensive Care Unit.

Pictured: George Castrudes was a 37-year-old seasonal farm worker from the Philippines. (Picture supplied by family)

Jersey Fire and Rescue Service confirmed his death yesterday afternoon and extended its condolences to his loved ones. 

In a statement, the service said: “We are saddened to share that the man who was rescued from a fire in Grouville on Sunday 19 January 2025 has died.

“George Michael Monte De Ramos Castrudes, 37, was originally from the Philippines and had been working on a farm in the island.

“Our thoughts and sympathies are with his loved ones.”

Pictured: An inquest into the death of George Castrudes was opened this morning. (Picture supplied by family)


An inquest opened this morning to confirm identification and other personal details so that Mr Castrudes’ body can be released and repatriated to the Philippines.

Two of his family members attended the hearing via Zoom.

The inquest heard that Dr Andrew Woodward, consultant anaesthetist at the hospital, pronounced Mr Castrudes dead. 

Dr Woodward provided a provisional cause of death as hypoxic brain injury due to a lack of oxygen to the brain resulting from carbon monoxide poisoning.

This will be confirmed pending the full inquest, which has been adjourned until further inquiries can be made.

No date has been set for the next hearing.

What is an inquest?

The purpose of an inquest is not to apportion blame or liability but to confirm how death occurred.

The main questions that need to be answered are who the deceased person was, where the death happened, when the death happened, and how the deceased died.

Occasionally, coroners will use inquest findings to offer advice or recommendations as to where improvements could be made going forward to prevent further deaths.