Police have halted the inquests into four deaths by paddleboarders in Wales after an accident on a river.
Paul O’Dwyer (42), from Port Talbot, Morgan Rogers (24) from Merthyr Tydfil, Nicola Wheatley (44) from Swansea, and Andrea Powell (41) from Bridgend died when they became in difficulty while paddling on the River Cleddau, Haverfordwest, on October 30, 2017.
After the group was in the water just minutes, they were struck by torrential water and rushed to safety as they paddled close to a river weir.
Andrea Powell, 41, (pictured) died in hospital surrounded by her family after being pulled from the water in Pembrokeshire on November 6
Morgan Rogers (24), Nicola Wheatley (44) and Paul O’Dwyer (22) both died in a storm that swept nine paddleboarders off the River Cleddau, Haverfordwest, on November 6.
Megan Rogers, Merthyr Tydfil was an active member of South Wales Paddleboarding Club. She was also deputy manager of Aldi’s town-wide Aldi grocery. However, she was currently preparing to join the fire department.
Nicola Wheatley (pictured), was a toxicologist at London’s Guys and St Thomas’s Hospital before she joined the Cardiff and Vale University health board 15 years ago. As a National Poisons Information service specialist, she provided advice for doctors who were treating poisoned patients.
They were all part of a nine-person group who had been on a weekend trip to paddleboard together.
Pembrokeshire Coroner’s Court heard that an unidentified group was in distress at a water source in Llanelli just after 9:00 AM.
Lisa Jenkins, coroner’s officer, told the hearing: “On Saturday 30 October 2021 at 09:02 Dyfed-Powys Police received a call reporting that several paddleboarders were in danger at the Cleddau River’s weir. This is in the middle of Haverfordwest.
“A variety of emergency services responded to the call and began a rescue and search operation. A major incident was declared.”
Ms Jenkins claimed that Ms Rogers, Mr O’Dwyer, and Ms Wheatley had been declared dead instantly.
Ms. Powell was transferred to nearby Withybush Hospital, but she died six days later.
Four of those who were killed in the accident have had a post-mortem examination. However, the results are still to be published.
They were part of an organized outing and had only been paddling near the weir when they were struck by torrential water.
Paul Bennett, acting senior coroner, said that he could extend his condolences to all four families who have tragically lost their lives as a result of this case.
Inquests were rescheduled pending results of the police investigation into possible criminal offenses.
On November 6, a woman in the South Wales region was taken into custody on suspicion of gross negligence murder. She has since been released and is currently being investigated.