UK military rugby player death at Dinard cliff due to accidental fall

The injuries of the UK military rugby team player who was found dead near cliffs in Brittany are consistent with an accidental fall and the man was very likely to have been drinking before, the local prosecutor has said.

The player’s body was found on the morning of Tuesday, August 29, at the bottom of a cliff in Dinard, where the team was staying for the military rugby world cup.

The official autopsy concluded on Wednesday evening that the man had died from “multiple fractures, consistent with a fall of several metres.”

The Saint-Malo prosecutor, whose office is in charge of the investigation, issued a press release stating that “witnesses and video surveillance from the evening of August 28 show the man behaving in a way that suggests he was under the influence of alcohol.”

The prosecutor said the main theory was of an accidental death.

Update (September 1): The rugby team of the UK armed forces issued a statement on their Facebook account shortly after the results of the autopsy were announced, confirming the death and the player's identity. Able Seaman Steffan Rees was a member of the Royal Navy.

The organisers of the Military Rugby World Cup, which is taking place in several towns across Brittany from August 16 to September 10, have not communicated on the way this tragedy will affect the rest of the tournament.

It is unclear if the UK will still be facing Fiji for their semi-finals match this Sunday.