Home   Gravesend   News   Article

Gravesend: Inquest into death of Ryan Sandhu at hotel in the Germany

An engineering student fell to his death from the fire escape of a German hotel, an inquest heard.

Ryan Sandhu, of Gravesend, was in his final year at Imperial College London and was studying abroad in the Netherlands at the time of his death.

A hearing at Maidstone’s Archbishop’s Palace heard the 22-year-old was visiting Munich with friends in June when he checked in to the Leonardo Hotel.

The inquest was held at Archbishop's Palace in Maidstone
The inquest was held at Archbishop's Palace in Maidstone

A receptionist later told police that when he booked in at 3.41am he was on his own, had no luggage and no identification but otherwise seemed normal.

He paid for the €104 fifth-floor room for one night with a credit card.

An hour and a half later Barbara Baumgartner was leaving the hotel when she heard a “dull thud”.

Minutes later she found Mr Sandhu lying motionless and bleeding heavily in the hotel’s courtyard.

Police and paramedics were called but the promising student was pronounced dead at the scene.

Assistant coroner Christopher Sutton-Mattocks told the hearing it was apparent Mr Sandhu had fallen from at least 75 feet and when his room was searched it was almost untouched.

A mug with a reddish brown tea bag inside was found on a table and marks of the same colour were found on the lock of the room’s window, suggesting attempts had been made to open it.

An identical mug was later found on the seventh storey of the fire escape, although Mr Sutton-Mattocks said it was unclear where Mr Sandhu fell from.

No note was found. No medical history or toxicology report was read at the inquest.

Mr Sutton-Mattocks recorded a verdict of misadventure.

At the time of his death, Imperial paid tribute to a “charming and bright young man with an infectious smile” who was “enjoying his year abroad very much and flourished while he was there.”

Close This site uses cookies. By continuing to browse the site you are agreeing to our use of cookies.Learn More