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| Marine fell to death during Snowdonia selection exercise | Marine fell to death during Snowdonia selection exercise |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| A Royal Marine fell to his death while taking part in a special forces selection exercise in Snowdonia, an inquest has heard. | A Royal Marine fell to his death while taking part in a special forces selection exercise in Snowdonia, an inquest has heard. |
| Ashley Hicks, 25, slipped down a gorge in October 2012 as he and his group tried to get to a safe point while being pursued by other soldiers. | Ashley Hicks, 25, slipped down a gorge in October 2012 as he and his group tried to get to a safe point while being pursued by other soldiers. |
| The inquest in Caernarfon heard Marine Hicks had warned others to "mind your footing" before he fell. | |
| The group were not aware of the gorge as the scale of map did not show it. | The group were not aware of the gorge as the scale of map did not show it. |
| Giving evidence from behind a screen, soldier A, who cannot be named, said the group had limited equipment including a map with little detail. | |
| He said the purpose of the exercise was to test the soldiers' ability to adapt and survive in conditions on the ground. | |
| Soldier A said Marine Hicks, of Solihull, had volunteered to lead the group when they set off after a break at 19:00 BST. | |
| 'Acceptable risk' | |
| He described him as an "exceptionally capable, highly motivated individual". | |
| The group decided to head north and take a more direct route to their safe point in order to improve their chances of avoiding capture, the hearing was told. | |
| They were in an area north of Llyn Trawsfynydd, but were unaware there was a nearby gorge because the scale of map did not show it. | |
| Marine Hicks took the lead and stepped over a dry stone wall telling his colleagues "it's getting steep here, so mind your footing". | |
| Seconds later his colleagues heard him slip and fall. | |
| An emergency beacon was set off to highlight their position, while two of the soldiers made their way down the steep gorge to Marine Hicks. | |
| When they reached him he was drifting in and out of consciousness and had a weak pulse. | |
| A few minutes later he stopped breathing and the soldiers carried out CPR until a rescue helicopter arrived. | |
| Asked by coroner Nicola Jones if, given the nature of the exercise, the level of risk was acceptable, soldier A replied "Yes". | |
| The hearing continues. | The hearing continues. |