Witnesses heard a loud 'bang' when Nishanthan Gnanathas, 31, was picked and thrown overboard during a trip in Portugal in July. The risk manager in London, was with 12 friends on a boat anchored for lunch on the River Tagus, when friend Youssef Ismail and Andre Van Eck decided to play a prank.
Westminster Coroner's Court was given details of the party, with Van Eck giving evidence that he had planned to throw Nish in the water at that specific spot after consulting with the captain who assured him it was "safe". Recalling the incident, he said, "We were on the boat standing, and Nish was just opposite me. Just before that, he went to get his phone, and Youssef took the phone off him. He said, look, I will take the photos." Van Eck said they were chatting for a bit before he "told the guys to move oiut of the way" when he picked the deceased up and threw him in. He added, "To my recollection, he grabbed one of the rails, and half swung back on himself, hitting the side of the boat- whether it was his head or his body, I don't know, but there was a big bang. He went under."
When asked if Nish was "willing" to be thrown in, he said he was more concerned about his beer. "He protested in the sense he had a beer in his hand. We had just started drinking. On a stag do beer is precious." Ismail, whose stag do it was, said, "We were on the boat and we pulled over. Nish ended up the water. He hit his head on the way in, everyone went 'ooh'. About six seconds later, myself and Andre jumped in. I couldn't find him, the water was very green. We were there until the police showed up." The body was found four days later.
