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A 24-year-old woman who died while paddleboarding with friends became trapped underwater, an inquest has heard.

Emma Louise Powell, from Llandudno, died after she and two friends got into difficulty in the River Conwy estuary on 14 July.

She was rescued from the water at Beacon’s Jetty, in Conwy county, but later died in Ysbyty Gwynedd, Bangor.

An inquest into her death was opened in Ruthin.

David Lewis, the assistant coroner for North Wales East and Central, said Ms Powell had apparently become trapped underwater.

The hearing was told members of the public, HM coastguards, Conwy lifeboat, a coastguard helicopter, police and ambulance crews were involved in the rescue.

The two people she was paddleboarding with were also taken to Ysbyty Gwynedd hospital after the rescue.

After her death members of Ms Powell’s family said she had “a happy-go-lucky personality” and described her as “a beautiful young lady who was adventurous and had a free spirit”.