A grandmother died after getting into difficulty while swimming at an Anglesey beach, an inquest heard.
Irene Cook, 75, of Bryn Twr in Abergele, died on September 1, 2021, at the high dependency unit in Ysbyty Gwynedd, Bangor. The grandmother had taken her grandchildren to Rhosneigr beach and went swimming with her family at around 12:50pm on August 25, 2021, when she was seen to get into difficulty.
The inquest in to her death was held in Caernarfon on April 27. It heard how retired office manager Mrs Cook, was swimming towards a sandbank known as Crab Island, where her grandchildren were playing, when the incident occurred, reports NorthWalesLive.
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Her daughter-in-law, Suzanne Johnston, gave evidence during the hearing and said she witnessed Mrs Cook wading and then swimming towards the sandbank when suddenly she "began looking as though she was not in control of her body". She added: "It took seconds for me to realise something wasn't right. I made my way over to the rocks and started shouting and signalling for help.
"She was on her front so I turned her over and could see she was unconscious. Some paddleboards came over to assist and we tried to place her on the paddleboard which we did partially. My brother arrived to help and we got her fully on the paddleboard. He gave her rescue breaths while we made our way back to shore."
Ms Johnston had also been assisted by Lucy Storey, a doctor for Manchester Foundation Trust, who witnessed the incident while on holiday with her family. Her statement, which was read out during the inquest, stated that her brother had run into Rhosneigr to retrieve an Automated External Defibrillator (AED) while the rest of the group began giving Mrs Cook CPR once they reached the shore.
The coastguard, lifeboat crews, four ambulance vehicles and an air ambulance were all called to the incident and Mrs Cook was airlifted to Ysbyty Gwynedd. She was put on ventilation but sadly did not recover and died six days later.
Sarah Riley, assistant coroner for North West Wales, said Mrs Cook appeared to have a "sudden medical episode". Ms Riley said: "Mrs Cook had been seen walking until the water reached chest height.
"She was observed on her back and not to be in control of her body and came to be face down in the water before being brought ashore by family and members of the public, some of whom were medically trained. They carried out CPR until the emergency services arrived at the scene.
"What triggered Irene to become face down in the water is not known but Mrs Cook's daughter has informed me that the medical professionals did not find any medical explanation as to what caused this incident and had made the assumption that Mrs Cook had panicked and taken in a lot of water, which then caused cardiac arrest. There is no evidence to support that assumption as Suzanne did not witness Mrs Cook panicking.
"It is not possible to ascertain what caused her to become submerged in the water. I will record the cause of death as hypoxic brain injury due to drowning."
Ms Riley delivered a narrative conclusion. Following the inquest hearing, the family thanked the emergency services for their efforts and urged beachgoers to be aware of the risks of swimming in the sea and said they would encourage everyone to visit the RNLI website for more information on beach safety.
