Thursday, June 19, 2025 - Two sisters drowned in pools on Yr Wyddfa mountain on June 11, 2025, an inquest heard today.
Hajra Zahid, 29, and Haleema Zahid, 25, travelled to North
Wales with friends from university on June 11.
They were pulled from pools on the Watkin Path, which
leads to the summit of the mountain, which was renamed from Snowdon in
2022.
Pools along the path, which include waterfalls and rocky
areas, are popular spots for wild swimming.
Inquests into the deaths of the two women were opened today,
June 18, 2025.
Both lived in Maltsby, Rotherham, in South Yorkshire, UK,
having moved from Pakistan.
They were both students at Chester Business School on the Master’s in
International Business course.
Assistant coroner for north-west Wales, Sarah Riley said:
"Hajra and Haleema had travelled to the Nant Gwynant area with friends
from university.
"They have entered the water and sadly both died as a result of
drowning."
The students were identified by a friend, the inquest
heard.
Ms Riley added: "Investigations continue in terms of
how they came by their de@th and the inquest is therefore adjourned to allow
for completion of those investigations.
"I offer my sincere condolences to their family,
friends and all who knew and loved them."
The hearing, held at the Dafydd Orwig Chamber in Caernarfon,
was told both women were pronounced de@d shortly before 11pm on June 11.
Dr Bilal Saeed, a former colleague of Haleema Zahid at a
telecommunications company in Islamabad, told the BBC she was "an
exceptionally compassionate, hardworking and kind individual" who had
"touched the lives of many with her warmth, professionalism and unwavering
dedication".
He added she had left the company for higher education in
the UK.
Another former colleague Sheharyar Shahnawaz told the
broadcaster she had become the pillar of her family after her father di£d last
year, and she was "really excited for this new chapter" moving
abroad.
Last week, a spokesman for North Wales Police said officers
were called to Nant Gwynant, Gwynedd, at about 9.30pm after a report that one
woman had been pulled from the water and another was said to be in the
pools.
The second woman was pulled from the water but was pronounced de@d at the
scene.
A Llanberis mountain rescue team was sent to the area along
with an air ambulance and a coastguard helicopter.
Vice-chancellor of the University of Chester, Professor
Eunice Simmons said: "The University of Chester community is in mourning
for the tragic loss of Haleema Zahid and Hajra Zahid and our heartfelt
sympathies are with their families and friends during this incredibly difficult
time.
"Haleema and Hajra had joined Chester Business School
earlier this year on the Master’s in International Business course.
"They touched the lives of many here at Chester – their
friends, the cohort of their course and the staff who taught them – and they
will be deeply missed."
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