A man found dead in a Manchester hotel room was an asylum seeker housed there while his application was considered by the Home Office.

Abdullah Ahmed Abdullah Alhabib's body was discovered in a room at the Britannia Country Hotel, in Didsbury, last summer.

An inquest into the circumstances surrounding his death was opened at Manchester Coroners’ Court on Thursday (March 11).

Senior Manchester Coroner Nigel Meadows stated that Mr Alhabib, 41, was found dead at the hotel, on Palatine Road, on August 6 last year.

He was identified by a housing officer.

A cause of death has not yet been confirmed, Mr Meadows said.

No drugs or substances were detected in his body, the coroner added.

Born on January 5, 1979, Mr Alhabib had been married, the inquest heard.

No other details were given during the short hearing, which was adjourned to a date yet to be listed.

Mr Alhabib arrived in the UK in June 2020, the Home Office confirmed.

He was detained at Yarl’s Wood immigration removal centre, in Bedfordshire, before being sent to Manchester.

He was accommodated at the hotel from June 13 until his death, the Home Office confirmed.

Greater Manchester Police have concluded an investigation into his death.

A Home Office spokesperson said: “The Government has a statutory duty to provide accommodation and support to asylum seekers who would otherwise be destitute while we consider their claims, and during these unprecedented times we have used hotels as a contingency option due to pressure on the system.

“An individual tragically died in the Britannia Country House Hotel last August and all our thoughts remain with their loved ones.”

Mr Alhabib had fled war-torn Yemen, surviving a Channel crossing by boat before arriving at Dover last June, according to The Guardian.

The paper reports that Mr Alhabib travelled on the small boat with 15 other people from Yemen, Syria and Iran.

One Yemeni asylum seeker who travelled with Mr Alhabib told the Guardian they had been charged €2,000 or €3,000 to be smuggled across the water.

They described the journey as ‘terrifying’.

“Every minute of it we felt we were hovering between life and death and could drown at any time,” they told the paper.

“All of us on these journeys, we have lost our country, lost our family, lost our future. When we got into the boat in Calais we felt the sea was the only place left for us to go.”

The UK has a statutory obligation to provide destitute asylum seekers with temporary accommodation, transport and financial support whilst applications for asylum are being considered.

Asylum seekers can obtain support under section 95 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 from the time they arrive in the UK, until their claim is fully determined, and they have exhausted their appeal rights.

The UK also supports asylum seekers who would otherwise be destitute and are unable to leave for reasons beyond their control.

During the pandemic the Home Office has been making alternative provision for asylum seekers by housing them in hotels as a temporary measure.