A statement from friend Corey Griffiths read out to the court said: “It just felt like a normal night out.”
Akhtar arrived in Bristol by train from Llanelli with his friends at around 13:15 BST, and went for a beer at the Sidings pub near Temple Meads Station before taking a taxi to their hostel on Narrow Quay in Bristol Harbour to drop off their bags.
They later went to watch a Wales rugby match at King Street Brew House, where they each had four or five pints of lager and some food.
The friends kept drinking at a number of others pubs on King Street before checking into the hostel after 20:00.
The group then went for cocktails at around 21:00, before moving onto other bars until around 01:00 when they all left together.
Griffiths told the inquest he remembered walking over Pero’s Bridge towards their hostel with Akhtar. His next recollection was being inside the hostel lobby looking for the key.
“I thought he was with me when I was in the lobby,” his statement said.
He said they had all been drinking all day and Akhtar had been his normal self and there were no reasons to be concerned.
He was woken up the next morning by another friend saying Akhtar was missing, but it was not until a few hours later that they became increasingly concerned and called the police.
CCTV footage shows that Akhtar fell into water at around 01:15 from the jetty dock by Arnolfini – which is a popular spot where people often sit during sunny weather.
His body was recovered by divers at 10:39 on 24 November and then taken to the Harbourmaster’s office where it was identified by Akhtar’s mother.
The post mortem examination found no evidence of any injury, or traces of drugs in his system. There were high levels of alcohol found in his blood and urine, and it was “likely that intoxication contributed to his fall into water”.
Avon and Somerset Police confirmed there was no third party involvement.