A 'sweet' and 'kind' teenager fell to his death after 'chasing additional excitement' on a family climb, an inquest has heard.
Sami Ahmed, 15, 'died doing what he loved' while out climbing on a family holiday in the Lake District in July. Sami Ahmed fell from a height of 30 to 40 metres at Dow Crag near Coniston while climbing a rock.
An inquest heard how the teen and his cousin became separated from the rest of the group while walking the Old Man of Coniston. His father said he only began to realise what had happened when the group came back together, and realised Sami was missing, reports LancsLive.
Coniston Mountain Rescue Team was called to the incident on July 10 after Sami and his cousin were reported missing. Rescue teams winched Sami up the mountain but he didn't survive.
An inquest held today (November 10) at Cockermouth Coroners' Court heard how Sami, from Bradford, was with his dad, Khalil Ahmed, and 10 other family members at the time of his death. Paying tribute to his son, Khalil said: "He was always very active. He was adventurous from a young age. He was sporty and enjoyed playing football and would go once a week. Sami loved making TikToks with his sisters.
"He never asked for anything and was so grateful for anything we bought him. He loved sitting with his family and having us all together. Sami was never really academically inclined and always loved his sport. He said he would like to play for Manchester United.
"Since Sami's passing so many people have spoken about how respectful, dignified and kind he was. Looking back his last hours were surrounded by his family doing something he loved - walking in the mountains.
"Sami's passing has left a hole in the family."
His father told the court how his son was in the process of reading the Quran and was close to finishing. After his death, his family finished this for him in his memory.
The dad-of-four had just climbed The Old Man of Coniston peak with Sami and several of his cousins and uncles. The teen was 10 minutes ahead walking with his cousin when the tragedy happened. The health charity worker said he had no idea what had happened to his son until he caught up with the group and found out that Sami was no longer with them.
He said that after calling the mountain rescue team that he had decided to wait for the pair at Walna Scar car park.
A man who was called Jake entered the car park and Khalil said this man was carrying his son's shoes and at that point, the reality of the situation hit him. Khalil added: "We decided on Saturday we would climb the Old Man of Coniston. We took three cars to be able to get everyone there.
The court also heard from Sami's cousin who was with him at the time of his death. A statement read to the court heard how Sami had slipped, hit his head, and then continued to fall until his cousin heard his body hit the ground.
The statement continued that Sami's cousin screamed for help before passers-by found the body and called for help. He was later recovered from the mountain.
Sami attended The Dixons City Academy, Bradford, and played football for local teams Phoenix FC and Thackley Lightning - and has three sisters, aged six, 23 and 25. Following his death, his father launched a GoFundMe appeal to raise money for good causes he said Sami would have liked, including for Coniston Mountain Rescue Team and sports facilities at a local mosque.
Summing up the case, assistant coroner, Robert Cohen said this was a tragic case. He said: "This was a tragedy on what should have been a wonderful family day out. He was in a lovely place doing what he loved with the family that he loved."
Ruling the death as accidental he said the pair had gone off "chasing additional excitement" and it sadly resulted in the death of Sami.
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