The investigation into the death of a 34-year-old man whose body was found in the water near a quay in Ghent on Monday has not led to the conclusion of a crime or the involvement of a third party, the East Flanders public prosecutor's office announced on Friday.
Accidental death now seems to be the most likely explanation.
The man had attended last Friday's Six Days of Ghent, a cycling event organised at the ‘t Kuipke velodrome in Ghent. He then went down to the Vlasmarkt before disappearing on Friday night.
The last signal from his mobile phone was picked up in the Baudelopark, but searches last weekend of the waterways in the centre of Ghent turned up nothing.
The Missing Persons Unit carried out a new search using sonar and divers on Monday, and the body was found near the Willem I Quay.
The East Flanders public prosecutor's office attended the scene, along with a forensic pathologist and the laboratory, and an investigation was launched.
"Initial findings showed that there was no indication of criminal intent," the public prosecutor said. ‘In order to rule out any hypothesis, a meticulous investigation was carried out, including an autopsy and a toxicological examination.
"The results of the investigation do not allow us to conclude that a crime was committed or that a third party may have been involved. For the time being, the public prosecutor's office presumes that the man died unfortunately as a result of a tragic accident."
