Briton's Dubai bridge death an accident, coroner rules

A UK inquest has confirmed that the death of a British man after he fell from an unfinished bridge in Dubai Marina was accidental.

DUBAI // An inquest into the death of a British man who fell from an unfinished bridge in Dubai Marina in March has recorded a verdict of accidental death.

Elliot Lintott, 27, died after walking through barriers on the bridge near the Habtoor Grand hotel and falling five metres to the ground.

"He had too much to drink and then fell to his death from the bridge," said Alan Craze, the coroner for East Sussex, who presided over the inquest at Eastbourne magistrates' court.

The finding matches those of Dubai Police and the public prosecutor's office.

Mr Lintott's friends last saw him at a concert at the Barasti Bar in Le Meridien Mina Seyahi Beach Resort and Marina.

Soon after the accident a representative of Parsons Infrastructure and Technology Group, which built the bridge, said barriers placed at the site had been meant to stop vehicles from going over the edge and should have been enough to warn pedestrians.

Since the accident, more barriers have been put in place to stop people walking on the bridge.

Mr Lintott worked in digital sales at the Dubai office of Abu Dhabi Media, owner and publisher of The National.

* With additional reporting by Essam Al Ghalib