Student drowned in freak accident 'during lovely day out' with friends, inquest finds

A university student drowned in a freak accident after getting into difficulty at sea during a 'lovely day out with friends', an inquest has heard.

Hamza Mansoor, who was unable to swim, drowned in a freak accident at Crosby when he was swept out to sea.

The 21-year-old had stripped to his underwear and was paddling with four friends when he got into difficulty as the tide turned.

The inquest was told the Pakistan-born man was struggling to stay afloat and only one of his friends, Usman Aslan, could navigate the water at Crosby Beach.

The group was soon separated before Usman was able to pull himself and friend Rizwan Zahoor onto a rock in the water.

Usman then turned to see where his friends were and saw Hamza, Fida Hasan and Toqeer Ashraf Mohammad all struggling to stay afloat, with Hamza being the closest to him.

An inquest at Bootle Town Hall heard that Usman jumped back in and attempted to save them but he was pushed further under the water as Hamza tried to keep himself afloat.

Usman decided to swim to shore to get help as a nearby woman pulled the three struggling friends onto her paddle board.

People on the beach then swam out to help and Hamza was brought to shore unconscious and not breathing.

Advanced paramedic Danielle Shaw told the inquest that Hamza had suffered a cardiac arrest.

Strangers gathered and gave Hamza CPR before paramedics arrived and started using a LUCAS machine and a defibrillator on him.

Hamza and Toqeer Ashraf, who was in a critical condition, were both rushed to Aintree Hospital, before the 21-year-old died at 8.20pm on 20 July 2021.

In a statement read at the inquest, Usman described how when the group arrived at the beach they quickly stripped down to their underwear and ran into the water, despite just one of the five men being able to swim.

He said: "We planned to stay in the shallow water because four of us couldn't swim.

"Myself and Rizwan stopped walking as the water got to our chests. We stayed in the water talking, laughing and holding hands for approximately three minutes."

The statement continued: "My leg hit a big rock. I pulled myself and Rizwan onto the rock and then I saw Hamza, Toqeer and Fida struggling.

"Hamza was the closest to me and I tried to pull him onto the rock but he ended up behind me and I was being pushed into the water."

During the inquest, senior coroner Julie Goulding said the day should have been a "lovely day out" for the group of friends but this was ruined when they were swept out to sea.

She also cited that they were "lucky" to have so many off-duty medical professionals on the beach at the time of the accident to assist before emergency services arrived.

Coroner Ms Goulding gave a conclusion of accidental death and said Hamza Mansoor had drowned after he "lost consciousness in the water".

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