A best man died after he was thrown into a river as a prank during a stag do, an inquest has heard.
Nishanthan Gnanathas, 31, was thrown into the water during a cruise party in Portugal.
Gnanathas hit his head on a wire shaft when he chucked from a yacht by Andre van Eck into Lisbon's River Tagus.
He was unconscious when he hit the water and never resurfaced, Westminster Coroner's Court heard.
Credit: SWNS
Advert
Mr Van Eck and stag Youssef Ismail swiftly dived in to try and save Sri Lankan-born Mr Gnanathas but could not find him.
The 31-year-old had been enjoying the first beer of the day with a group of 12 friends after anchoring the boat for lunch around midday.
Mr Van Eck told the court: "We had horseplay all the time. We had no intention for anyone to get hurt.
"I went to see the captain and said, 'look, somebody needs to go overboard. Is it all right if I chuck the best man over?'"
He said the captain had given him permission and that, just before he planned to throw him overboard, Mr Ismail had taken his phone so it did not get damaged.
"I picked him up and threw him over. I think he grabbed one of the rails, swung back on himself and hit the side of the boat," said Mr van Eck.
"I tried but to no avail. I swam underneath the boat, but we couldn't find him."
Credit: SWNS
Mr Gnanathas's family had to wait six days before his body was recovered from the water after a major sea and air search involving police boats and a helicopter.
Dr Michael Heath, a forensic pathologist who conducted a post-mortem, said he found "no evidence of violence or injury".
He added that it was "quite likely that there had been a head injury" and that the "respiratory system can shut down" when a person hits cold water.
Coroner Dr Fiona Wilcox noted that the group had jumped off a pier the day before and that Mr Gnanathas "had been one of the first of those to jump".
Credit: SWNS
Advert
Dr Wilcox concluded: "I am satisfied on the balance of probabilities that whatever happened was very quick and that Nish suffered some sort of physical shock and suffered respiratory arrest and couldn't breath because of the water.
"What happened must have been very sharp and very sudden. He was a young, fit man and had been able to jump off the pier in similar circumstances the day before.
"I accept the cause of death as immersion in water.
"My final conclusion is that I am entirely satisfied that this was misadventure."
Advert
A tragic accident.
Featured image credit: SWNS
Topics: Prank, Death, accident, Water