British man died after choking on food at an Abu Dhabi hospital, inquest hears

The father of two collapsed at the airport after bleeding in the brain, then choked on food at the hospital while on a ventilator.

ABU DHABI // A British man who collapsed at Abu Dhabi airport died weeks later after choking on food at a hospital, an inquest has heard.

John Cannan, 51, was in transit at the airport last May when he collapsed because of bleeding in his brain.

The father of two spent eight weeks in a coma in Mafraq Hospital, the Manchester Evening News paper reported.

It is not clear how Mr Cannan’s throat had become blocked with food as he had been breathing with the aid of a ventilator and had not regained consciousness. He died at the hospital on July 17.

Pathologists found he had died from “food aspiration” after his trachea became completely blocked, but were unable to explain how it had happened.

An inquest into his death last week at Heywood Coroners Court in the UK heard Mr Cannan, of Rochdale, had chronic heart problems and had undergone brain surgery after collapsing in the UAE.

Family members were offered the opportunity to adjourn the inquest to allow for more evidence, but they said they wanted closure and asked for a verdict to be recorded.

“The evidence just doesn’t tell me what happened in the final hours of his life and I can’t cure that given the absence of that information,” said the coroner, Simon Nelson. “But I hope I receive information and can pass it on to the family in due course.”

Mr Nelson recorded a narrative verdict, which records the death but does not attribute the cause to any individual.