A person dies on a business trip after being trapped inside a 5-star hotel spa as a fire breaks out

You need to know

• Anthony Barnes, 48, died in 2023 while on a business trip with colleagues in Morocco

• According to the Coroner’s inquest, Barnes was in the Spa Resort’s building when the fire broke out, engulfing him inside.

• The Coroner concluded that his death was an accident

British authorities are explaining the circumstances that led to the death of a 48-year-old executive who was staying at a hotel in Morocco on a business trip in 2023.

Anthony Barnes traveled to Marrakesh with his colleagues on March 22, 2023, for a “celebration of work,” according to an inquiry obtained by People.

The group arrived in the city around 11 local time and went to the Jaal Riad Resort where they were booked to stay for three nights.

Described on travel websites as a 5-star hotel and SPA, the jaal riad in Marrakech is a resort for adults, with five restaurants and a bar, an art gallery, and a spa.

The hotel did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.

At about 3:00 in the evening, Barnes booked a massage at the hotel’s SPA and left his colleagues with a place at the pool.

About an hour later, according to colleagues, Barnes’ colleagues noticed that several hotel workers were running into the SPA building and rushed out of the roof.

Unable to find Barnes, his colleagues walked around the SPA building to the back door when smoke billowed out of the door.

A local police investigation found that SPA workers “heard a small explosion followed by flames” and were trying to put out the fire when they were ‘affected by difficult visibility and poor visibility.’

“There is no indication that the fire was started intentionally,” the Coroner wrote.

Emergency responders arrived around 4:20 PM, but had trouble getting into the SPA. About an hour later, a site was taken from the SPA building and Barnes’ colleagues pointed it out.

He was pronounced dead at the scene that day, according to Coroner Caroline Jones, who noted that an initial autopsy in Morocco suggested he died of carbon monoxide poisoning.

His body was later returned to Britain where he received a second post-mortem examination, which found that he died of smoke inhalation and coronary atherosclerosis, which means a narrowing of the walls of blood vessels, “according to the Cleveland Clinic. The condition is common, but it can lead to serious problems, including heart attacks and strokes.

“From the pathologist’s point of view, the fact of artony’s artony’s skin and appeared to be of little clinical significance in the arrangement of smoke inhalation in a reduced area,” wrote the coroner.

An autopsy report, obtained by the people, said they were trapped inside the spa at the time of the fire, and that his death was determined to be an accident.

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According to the March 2023 document published on Peterborouka TelegraphBarnes was a director and founder of One Group, a recruitment company based in Peterborough.

The company shared a statement about Barnes’ death on its Facebook page at the time, writing: “It is with the greatest sadness that we receive the news that Anthony Barnes, Annes Barnes, Annesbor has died in a tragic accident while traveling in a business accident.”

“Antrunt’s dedication and commitment to business over the past 20 years has created great relationships both internally and externally. We know that many of you will see friends and business associates and will be shocked and saddened. His loss will be deeply felt by everyone who knew him.”

Read the original article on People