A university student died after an initiation ceremony bar crawl at which students ordered rounds of about 100 drinks at a time, an inquest has heard.

Ed Farmer, 20, died in December 2016 after a Newcastle University agricultural society night out, a coroner was told on Monday. According to reports, medics said he had suffered a cardiorespiratory arrest and the alcohol level in his system was found to have been many times greater than the legal drink-driving limit.

Farmer and his fellow students went out drinking in Newcastle on 12 December, the city’s coroner’s court heard. The first-year student was taken back to a house when he was thought to be too drunk to carry on and was heard to be snoring loudly.

One student reportedly took this to mean Farmer was sleeping deeply but, according to the Newcastle Chronicle, the inquest was told that it signified partial obstruction of the airways.

Farmer’s death was later attributed to injuries suffered as a result of his brain having been starved of oxygen. “That in turn was due to acute alcohol toxicity. We can attribute his death to the effects of alcohol,” said the pathologist Dr Jennifer Bolton.

Had the severity of his condition been recognised and had he been taken to hospital before suffering the cardiorespiratory arrest, he might have survived, a senior doctor said.

According to the Chronicle, Dr Benjamin Messer, an intensive care consultant, said: “Had he come into hospital prior to that arrest, my opinion is the outcome would have been different.”

The inquest heard that a round of at least 100 triple vodkas had been ordered at the Three Bulls Heads pub in Newcastle city centre. According to James Carr, who was the chairman of the agricultural society, first-year students would have drunk two or three each. He said they placed a similar order at another bar but were asked to leave.

Carr told the inquest the night out was staged every year to welcome new arrivals, the BBC reported. That was despite his knowing that “initiation-style” ceremonies had been banned by the university.

CCTV footage showed Farmer falling over and being held up by two other students, before being carried by his arms and legs, according to the BBC. After he was taken to Carr’s house, another student shaved Farmer’s head.

Carr told the inquest he was woken at around 4.30am by a student who told him Farmer needed to go to hospital. “I was panicking if I’m honest, I was in a state of shock,” Carr said.

The inquest continues.