Bristol Student Dies After Entering Dry Dock

A Bristol student has died after entering the dry dock near the SS Great Britain and failing to pull herself out after multiple attempts.

Veronica Simcekova climbed into the dock in the early hours of the 27th of January this year and was caught on CCTV. Veronica was then removed by police and paramedics after being called by a member of the public who her cries of help, and was then rushed to hospital.

Despite efforts to resuscitate her, Veronica was pronounced dead in hospital as a result of her body temperature falling to 21C.

An inquest heard that Veronica had been trapped in the dock for over an hour, during which time she had tried to climb out of the dock ’17 times’. Myfanwy Buckeridge, Assistant coroner for Avon, had said that there is no evidence to suggest that Veronica had wanted to end her own life, describing the Slovakian student as “positive and happy”.

Veronica’s death also came weeks before she had planned a trip to the Czech Republic, where she had lived as a child, to visit her family.

Ms Buckeridge had concluded that pneumonia and hypothermia were the causes of Veronica’s death and gave a final verdict of misadventure, the accidental death of an individual acting within the law and without the intention of ending their own life.