Terrible tragedy at the campus gym at the University of East Anglia after a student died by accidentally slipping and dropping a 65kg bar on his head.

Aspiring doctor Mohammed Faraj, 21, had been using an aerobic step to perform calf raises while on a Smith machine as he trained for an Ironman event.

CCTV from the gym showed Mohammed slipping off the step, which caused a horizontal 65kg bar bell to drop and “force his neck to the ground”.

An inquest heard a safety feature on the machine was a set of adjustable stops, which “should be set to the highest position possible” to stop the weight bar.

Unfortunately, whoever was using the machine before Mohammed had left in the “very lowest position” (which is not to say it’s their fault – it’s obviously the user’s responsibility to ensure any machine is set up correctly).

Gym-goer Dr Trey Koev said he had been “less than two metres away” when he saw Mohammed slip on the plastic aerobic step before the “bar carrying the weight came down” – resulting in a “loud bang”.

Mohammed then “struggled to his feet very rapidly then tumbled”, and had “blood coming out of his nose and mouth.”

Norfolk assistant coroner Johanna Thompson ruled Mohammed’s death as an accident, saying:

“He used a step aerobic block to stand on. In doing so he slipped, causing the weight he had been lifting to fall onto him.

“This resulted in him sustaining a fatal head injury.”

Awful stuff. Training for an Ironman event, aspiring to be a doctor; it sounds like this poor lad was living his life to the fullest. As rare as this sort of death is, it just goes to show how important it is to ensure all safety measures are properly in place when lifting heavy, and why spotting in the gym is so important. Although I guess no one has a spotter when doing calf raise, but you get the point.

RIP Mohammed and thoughts with his friends and family.

For the live-streamer who tried to troll a gym bro by taking his hat and immediately got slapped into next week, click HERE.