AN AMERICAN man fell to his death while rock climbing with friends near St Govans, an inquest has heard.

On May 25, 2015, Edward James Alfano, 31, a consultant from Massachusetts, was holidaying with friends, and had already spent two days exploring the Pembrokeshire coast.

At an inquest held in Milford Haven on Friday (February 5), Mr Alfano’s family heard how the trio completed a successful climb led by one of their party, Thomas Hatfield, before moving on to a section of cliff known as Crystal Slabs.

After choosing to lead the climb, Mr Alfano carried out a number of safety checks, before starting to ascend the cliff, and was described by witnesses as looking “comfortable” and “competent”.

Watching from below, friend Alicia Lenis saw Mr Alfano insert camming devices into what she described as sensible places in the rock face.

Ms Lenis said he then appeared to slip or stop, shifting his weight, before starting to fall.

“I wasn’t worried as I had seen him place the gear,” said Ms Lenis.

“I thought he would just get a bit of a fright.”

Ms Lenis said she then became “confused” to see her friend keep falling head first along the rock face, before coming to rest just out of sight beyond a nearby ledge.

She remembered yelling Mr Alfano’s name, before starting towards the area where he had fallen, and finding he was out of reach.

Paul Donnithorne and Samuel Brown, both experienced climbers, were nearby, and Mr Donnithorne was first to reach Mr Alfano after the incident.

“The casualty was upside down and in a very bad way,” he said, and checked for a pulse even though it seemed “pointless”.

He helped lower Mr Alfano down to rest on flat ground, and tried CPR, but said there was no pulse or signs of breath.

Mr Brown, a professional climber with 25 years of experience, had been watching the climb, and saw Mr Alfano fall.

“The first thing that struck me was the distance he fell, and the awkward nature of the fall,” he said.

Mr Brown said conditions that day had been good, and he had not been at all concerned by Mr Alfano’s approach, saying: “He seemed confident and comfortable.”

Asked for his opinion on how Mr Alfano had come fall, and end up upside down, Mr Brown said it was impossible to say.

“He could have slipped slightly, which could have made him fall at an awkward angle, or the equipment could have given way,” he said.

He said the person securing the rope had done an “impeccable job”, and it was not apparent that Mr Alfano’s kit had warped or bent.

“I would have trusted it myself,” he said.

But, emphasising the inherent risks involved in the sport, Mr Brown said the use of more pieces of kit could potentially have helped provide Mr Alfano with a better “safety net”.

“It’s not a dangerous climb, but in my personal opinion I would have placed more protection,” he said.

Despite being called within a few minutes, emergency services were unable to save Mr Alfano, and he was pronounced dead at the scene.

A post mortem found he died from a head injury with extensive skull fracture.

Recording a conclusion of misadventure, Coroner Mark Layton said it was evident that Mr Alfano had suffered fatal injuries as a result of the fall.

He said it was clear that Mr Alfano was an experienced climber who loved his sport, but that it did carry a risk.

He praised the “great efforts” made by the other climbers to come to Mr Alfano’s assistance, and that of coastguards who attended the scene.