UK Athletics fined £350,000 over death of Paralympic athlete

(refiles to fix spelling in headline)

LONDON, June 1 : UK Athletics on Friday was fined £350,000 ($471,520) on Tuesday over the death of Abdullah Hayayei, who was killed in 2017 while the Paralympic athlete was training in London.

Hayayei, from the United Arab Emirates, was preparing for the 2017 World Paralympic Athletics Championships at the Newham Leisure Centre when a metal throwing cage fell on him.

The 36-year-old athlete — who had made his debut in the javelin and shot put at the 2016 Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro — was pronounced dead at the scene.

A police and health and safety investigation found that the stabilising metal lattice base plates of the discus cage were missing.

UK Athletics pleaded guilty to corporate manslaughter in February and was issued with the fine and told to pay £44,000 court costs.

The head of sport for the 2017 World Paralympic Athletics Championships Keith Davies, 78, also pleaded guilty to an offence under the Health and Safety at Work Act. He was sentenced to a community order with 175 hours of unpaid work.

"There can be no doubt that UK Athletics were grossly negligent in their safety management, which caused the death of a talented athlete," Colin Gibbs from Britain Crown Prosecution Service said.

"They left equipment in a seriously unsafe condition, and Mr Hayayei’s death was wholly avoidable."

UK Athletics said it was deeply and genuinely sorry for what had occurred.

"The failings identified in this case should never have happened," the organisation said in a statement. "While nothing can undo what happened, there has been a determined focus on learning from these events and ensuring stronger standards and safeguards are in place throughout athletics."

($1 = 0.7423 pounds)