Mum-of-two Nicola Bulley died as a result of drowning and was alive when she entered the water in the River Wyre in Lancashire, a pathologist told the first day of an inquest into her death.
And one of two experts on drowning - described as 'leading the world in terms of expertise' - said she would have drowned in 'one or two breaths' of water.
Professor Mike Tipton, from the University of Portsmouth, said in evidence to the inquest he believed Ms Bulley had a 'gasp response under the water' and 'would have died in less than 10 seconds'.
