A coroner is due to give her conclusions at an inquest into the death of a soldier on an Army test march.
Corporal Joshua Hoole, described as “fit, capable and determined”, died within an hour of collapsing just 400 metres from the end of an annual fitness test (AFT) at Brecon, Wales on July 19 2016.
The death of the 26-year-old, of Ecclefechan near Lockerbie, Dumfries and Galloway, came three years after three Army reservists suffered fatal heat illness during an SAS selection march in the Brecon Beacons.
The inquest into Cpl Hoole’s death has heard soldiers were aware it was to be “the hottest day of the year” and the march time at Dering Lines was brought forward, as a result.
Cpl Hoole, of 1 Rifles, collapsed wearing 25kg (44lbs) of kit, and was one of 18 out of a total of 41 soldiers who did not complete the course.
A 2017 Defence Safety Authority report concluded Cpl Hoole died as a result of an undiagnosed underlying medical condition, “within the definition of sudden arrhythmogenic death syndrome” and “did not die as a direct result of doing the annual fitness test”.
But that conclusion was rejected by Mr Hoole’s father, who successfully applied to senior Birmingham coroner Louise Hunt for the inquest to resume.
Read more: Inquest into death of Joshua Hoole told of officer’s jibe
Cpl Hoole collapsed at 8.52am near the end of the “eight-miler” loaded march over hilly ground, having earlier been described as “panting” and “staggering”.
Earlier on, two other soldiers had collapsed after showing symptoms of heat illness.
But the exercise continued, despite the inquest hearing about a health and safety document directing march commanders to assess whether activities should be halted when heat injuries are suspected.
The inquest has also heard a key temperature gauge used to determine if it was safe to start outdoor activities had been “erroneously” located in the shade of the base’s gym at Dering Lines, meaning it gave low readings in the morning.
Read more: Soldier's death during fitness test an 'unforeseen tragedy', report finds
Exercises are not supposed to go ahead if the wet bulb globe thermometer hits 20C (68F), the coroner heard.
When the march started at 7am the gauge was reading 17C (62.6F), but by 10am it had risen to 25.5C (77.9F).
Ms Hunt is due to give her conclusions on the circumstances surrounding Cpl Hoole’s death later.
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