Inquest into death of Manchester student found on Blackpool beach

Sairam Guntupalli moved to Manchester for a ‘better life’

2 months ago | UPDATED 2 weeks ago

A student who moved to Manchester was found dead on the beach in Blackpool on June 2nd 2024.

Sairam Guntupalli was found dead, fully-clothed on the beach, Lancs Live reports.

In the inquest yesterday, Senior coroner Alan Wilson said he “could not speculate” as to what had happened to Sairam or how he came to be in the water.

Sairam Guntupalli came to the UK in December 2020 to study an advanced computer science course at Hertfordshire University on a student visa.

His visa was cancelled in February 2022, after he was expelled from his course for not paying the fees.

The Metropolitan Police tried to locate Sairam, who was classed as a visa overstayer, but he could not be found.

At some time he had moved to Manchester, where he worked and lived in a shop, while he kept in contact with family in India.

On June 2nd this year, Sairam went to Blackpool from Manchester Piccadilly, and told his family he had planned to visit the beach in Blackpool.

CCTV shows that in Blackpool, Sairam made his way to the Promenade near the Tower, before walking down onto the beach around 3pm.

This was the last sighting on Sairam.

At around 11pm, local Patrick Smith was walking on the beach with his partner and her children.

He said “after we walked down to the Mirror Ball I said I would walk down on the beach and meet them further along”.

As he passed behind the tram depot he saw a silhouette on the sand, which was Sairam’s body.

Tests later revealed that he had drowned, but also had a serious head injury.

An inquest was held this week on October 2nd at Blackpool Town Hall, where the coroner was unable to determine how Sairam died.

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Sariam’s mother, who lives in India, said she last spoke to her son on May 30th when he spoke of plans to visit Blackpool.

There was no indication that Sairam was visiting Blackpool to end his life and the conversation between the two was “normal”.

The as CCTV sighting of Sairam was at 3pm when he could be seen going down the steps onto the beach.

There was no further sighting of him from then until his body was found, three mies south at 11.35pm.

Senior Coroner Alan Wilson said “Sairam Guntupalli had been in the UK since December 2020,” the coroner said in his conclusion.

“He spoke to his family on May 30 when he mentioned visiting Blackpool beach over the weekend.

There was nothing unusual about the conversation. It is not known what happened to him.

“Whilst in the sea he received a head injury most likely from the sea bed or some rocks. Sairam Guntupalli drowned but from the available evidence it could not be established how he came to be in the sea.”