TWO sisters who died at a popular beauty spot drowned after splitting from their group, an inquest heard.
Married mum-of-two Hajra Zahid, 29, and Haleema Zahid, 25, had travelled to the viral Snowdonia pools with three male friends on June 11 last year.
The five, who were all students at the University of Chester, separated briefly for privacy.
An inquest heard Hajra and Haleema couldn’t swim but made their way to a pool on the Afon Cwm Llan river.
A short while later, their friends went to look for them, but could only see some belongings at the side.
North Wales Police were called to the site, in Nant Gwynant, Gwynedd, at 9.31pm.
They had received reports that one woman had been pulled from the water and that there was another in one of the pools.
Caernarfon Coroner’s Court was told the men managed to pull an unconscious Hajra onto the river bank but were unable to find Haleema.
Emergency services later recovered Haleema, who was wearing blue jeans and a black shirt, from deep water near a waterfall.
Both women were tragically pronounced dead at the scene.
Detective Constable Gutun Lake, from North Wales Police, told the inquest it had been a “very hot day” with temperature highs of over 30C.
He explained the pools were “extremely cold” in comparison.
Assistant Coroner for North West Wales, Sarah Riley, concluded the sisters had intended to go into the water but not beyond their depth.
She said: “Having considered the evidence that neither could swim and that they were fully clothed I am satisfied that neither sister went to swim or enter parts of the pool that would put them out of their depths in the water.”
The Coroner concluded their deaths were accidental and said it was a possibility they got into difficulty due to slippery rocks.
She said: “I extend my sincere condolences to their friends and family.
“This is an extremely tragic case and my thoughts remain with them.”
The sisters, originally from Rawalpindi, Pakistan, came to the UK in January 2025 to study a Master’s degree in international business.
In a statement read out at the inquests, Hajra’s husband Hessham Minhas said said: “She was a determined, ambitious woman who believed in the power of education and personal growth, with a dream of building a better future for herself and her family.
“Her memory lives on in the lives she touched and the family she left behind.”
Another statement from Raja Azem, a friend of Haleema, said: “Haleema will remain in our hearts and prayers as a loving, daughter, sister and auntie.”
