Sky Thomas Gidge

    skygidge@icloud.com

    A BRITISH national died recently in Luohu district, according to a Luohu police officer. Friends said the man was Bob Coleman, a videographer and longtime resident of Shenzhen.

    The police officer said Coleman had passed away suddenly from an unidentified illness. Foul play, drugs or alcohol were not factors in his death, according to the officer.

    Friends had been searching for Coleman since at least Thursday last week.

    “I spoke to him two weeks ago and he was healthy. It’s shocking,” said Sean Weisbrot, a friend. Weisbrot said Coleman was likely in his late 50s and didn’t drink alcohol.

    Weisbrot described Coleman as a generous man with decades of work experience.

    “He was good at what he did and he was enjoyable to be around,” Weisbrot said. “He was talking about all the projects he was ready to start — this was not a man that was ready to die.”

    The British Consulate in Guangzhou confirmed the death of a British national in Shenzhen and said consular assistance is being provided.

    (Additional reporting by Zhang Qian)