British traveller’s fall to death from Vietnam guest house ruled accident by coroner

Ben Milner, 46, died in Ho Chi Minh City in November 2022

Representative: A tourist takes a photo with his mobile phone as people tour Ho Chi Minh City in a sightseeing bus on 1 December 2021 (AFP via Getty Images)

A 46-year-old British man fell to his death in Vietnam while “seriously intoxicated”, an inquest has been told.

Ben Milner, 46, was in Ho Chi Minh City when he died in November 2022 after falling from the third floor of a guest house while in a state of intoxication. The Londoner was seen “talking to himself” by the guest house manager.

A post-mortem in the UK found that he died of multiple injuries from the fall, including a skull fracture. His blood test also revealed blood alcohol of 278mg per 100mL of blood, almost three times the legal UK drink-drive limit.

As per the CCTV footage, he was “standing unstable and he fell into the main door of the guest house”, coroner Rachael Griffin told the inquest in Bournemouth.

There “was no sign of a crime” or a third party involvement, said a report from the Vietnamese authorities.

"Ben was very much loved and his death has caused great devastation,” the coroner concluded, according to the BBC. “He was somebody who lived life very much to the full. He enjoyed life and he enjoyed travelling."

“Ben was a very sensible young man, very into healthy eating and looking after himself,” said his sister, Amanda. “He was interested in computers and was very knowledgeable in that area,” she told The Daily Mirror. His death “left a huge hole” in the lives of his family members, she said, as she expressed her satisfaction with the coroner report.

“There is no evidence of any third-party involvement in his death. I am satisfied on the balance of probabilities that he died as a result of multiple injuries sustained from a fall from height.”