A "beautiful young lady" died after drowning in a paddleboard incident off the north Wales coast, an inquest has heard. Emma Louise Powell was an "adventurous" "free spirit", but at around 10pm on Thursday, July 14, the 24-year-old from Llandudno got into difficulties alongside two of her friends off Conwy Morfa.
A major rescue operation involving emergency services, the coastguard and the RNLI was launched in the late hours, and Emma was taken from the water at Beacon’s Jetty, in Conwy county. Emma and her two friends were then taken to Ysbyty Gwynedd for treatment, where Emma tragically died on July 15 at 12.35am.
At an inquest opening held at Ruthin County Hall today (July 25) a provisional cause of death of drowning was given by David Lewis, assistant coroner for North Wales east and central, NorthWalesLive reports. The inquest was adjourned to a future date pending further investigation.
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Following the terrible incident, a fundraiser was set up to help with Emma's funeral costs. It read: "Emma was like no other, everyone who was lucky enough to cross paths with her had no choice but to love her.
"She was a huge happy go lucky personality. She was such a vibrant soul with a huge heart, but could also be a stroppy cow when she wanted to be, but that’s just our Emma. We are creating this GoFundMe in hopes that Emma’s loved family and friends will help give Emma the big send off she deserves."
It added: "Emma is going to have the greatest send off that we possibly can do for her, in Emma’s words “Go Big or Go Home”. In a statement released through North Wales Police, her family said: “Emma was a beautiful young lady, who was adventurous and had a free spirit. She will remain in our hearts for the rest of our lives."
Following the incident, a North Wales Police spokesperson said: "We received a call at 10.14pm last night (Thursday July 14) reporting a group of paddleboarders in difficulty in the water off Conwy Morfa. Officers attended alongside colleagues from HM Coastguard and Welsh Ambulance, who attended to three casualties.
"Two of the casualties were taken by ambulance to Ysbyty Gwynedd but sadly, despite the best efforts of all involved, one person passed away in hospital. The local coroner has been informed, and specialist officers will be supporting the family of the deceased."
A spokesperson for the coastguard said at the time: "An extensive search and rescue was carried out after three people got into difficulty at Beacons Jetty, Conwy last night. Coastguard rescue teams from Bangor and Llandudno were sent, along with Conwy RNLI lifeboat, the coastguard helicopter from Caernarfon, the Welsh Ambulance Service and North Wales Police."
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