British contractor 'killed with RPG during Isis massacre after letting women and children escape Islamist attackers'

He spent two days sheltering inside the Amarula Hotel in 2021 as Isis-linked Al-Shabaab fighters raided the area.

Mr Mawer, a manager at the firm RA International, was offered a helicopter evacuation on the second day, but bravely turned down the offer and insisted "women and children went first".

He again turned down an evacuation in an armoured B6 truck, offering to drive in a separate vehicle.

Moments later, he was killed when a rocket smashed into his car.

Now, an inquest into his death has revealed workers were aware of regular attacks around Palma, but work on a large-scale gas project continued after the threat was considered low.

Mr Mawer, originally from Somerset, became trapped in his hotel on March 24 as the massacre unfolded around him.

Philip Mawer, 58, was killed instantly by Isis terrorists when an RPG struck his vehicle

RA INTERNATIONAL

Gordon Rhattigan, his friend and fellow project manager, said: "It was chaotic at the time. It was a very fluid situation so it was changing every 30 seconds or minute."

The next day, South African private military company Dyck Advisory Group evacuated 23 people from the hotel, but Mr Mawer refused to leave with them.

As the attack heightened, he joined a convoy fleeing the hotel on March 26, but a blast from a RPG ripped off his left arm and caused catastrophic injuries to his spine and brain stem.

Pathologist Dr Russell Delaney said he was knocked unconscious and killed instantly.

He told Winchester Coroner’s Court: "There was instant catastrophic haemorrhage, spinal cord and brain stem damage which would have caused instant unconsciousness and death."

He added: "It's designed to be initiated on impact and a metal jet to pierce armour and penetrate other structures like brick or concrete walls.

"It will cause severe damage to things in its path."

Mr Rhattigan told the inquest workers were "100 per cent" aware of attacks happening around the project in the outskirts of the village, even detailing one horrific instance where terrorists "took all the people to a football field and beheaded them there".

"But they then started attacking villages in the north as well as the south," he added.

PICTURED: A message on the grass reading 'help' in Palma taken in 2021 by Dyck Advisory Group

DYCK ADVISORY GROUP

RA International boss Soraya Narfeldt said the contractor knew Mozambique and Africa extremely well, adding that he "knew the country so intimately".

Mr Rhattigan remembered his friend as being "very well liked" by a variety of companies in the town.

He said: "Philip was very kind, very funny, and very down to earth. He was honest. I really enjoyed working with him and I had been looking forward to working with him for a while.

Ms Narfeldt added: "My best memory with him was watching world cup rugby with him, and I’d ended up on the Welsh side. He was a great guy."

The five-day inquest continues.