Falls death sisters were on trip with uni friends

TWO sisters drowned in Eryri National Park after travelling to the area with friends from university, an inquest has heard.

- By DAVID POWELL and ELEANOR BARLOW

Sarah Riley, assistant coroner for North West Wales, opened the hearing into the deaths of Hajra Zahid, 29, and Haleema Zahid, 25.

The women, who lived in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, were students at the University of Chester. They had travelled with friends from the university to Nant Gwynant on June 11.

She said consultant pathologist Dr Zain Mehdi, who conducted postmortem examinations, has given the provisional cause of death as drowning.

She said: “They have entered the water and sadly both died as a result of drowning.”

She said Hajra was declared dead at 10.48pm and Haleema was declared dead at 10.49pm.

They were both identified by a friend Zeb Luqman to a North Wales Police officer. Ms Riley added: “Investigations continue into how they came by their deaths.”