A 13-year-old girl drowned at a family birthday barbecue the day before she was due to turn 14. Palwasha Akbar got into difficulty in the River Wharfe at Burnsall in North Yorkshire on May 31, a coroner said on Thursday, June 18.
Family Celebration Turns Tragic
Her family had gone to the popular riverside spot to celebrate Palwasha's 14th birthday, which was due on June 1, with a family barbecue during the May heatwave. Assistant North Yorkshire coroner Alison Norton said: "Palwasha Akbar was at Bolton Abbey – more specifically Burnsall – on May 31, 2026, when she got into some difficulty in the water."
She was retrieved from the water and taken to Newcastle’s Royal Victoria Infirmary, where she was later confirmed deceased. Ms Norton said the provisional cause of Palwasha’s death has been established as drowning. The coroner said the teenager was born in Pakistan on June 1, 2012, and lived in Bradford, West Yorkshire. She adjourned the five minute-long hearing to a date to be fixed.
Multiple Drownings During Heatwave
Palwasha was one of at least 19 people who died in open-water incidents during the hot weather at the end of May. After her death, her family issued a statement which said she was "a bright, kind, and caring young girl whose tragic passing has left her family, friends, and community heartbroken."
It said: "Palwasha will be remembered for her kindness, her beautiful spirit, her devotion to her friends and family, and the happiness she brought to those around her. Her life was taken far too soon, but her memory will live on forever in the hearts of everyone who loved her."
Campaign to Prevent Drownings
The Mirror has launched the 'Save Lives for Sam' campaign to stop the "catastrophic" deaths of 33 children who drown in England every year - "the equivalent of a classroom of children lost." Drowning in the UK has become an "epidemic" and a "national emergency," campaigners say, as they urge the Government to take urgent action.
The UK saw a horrifying death toll of 19 children and adults killed in water related incidents during one week, in a record-breaking heatwave from May 24th to the 31st.
