Father of drowned girl tells of family's agony

A father whose teenage daughter drowned on a day out to celebrate her birthday says the family is "going through agony".

Thirteen-year-old Palwasha Akbar was playing in the River Wharfe at Burnsall, North Yorkshire, when she got into difficulty on 31 May. She was rescued but later died in hospital.

Irshad Akbar described his daughter, who was due to turn 14 the next day, as a "God-gifted child". He said: "We went there to celebrate her birthday, and her birthday turned into a death day. It is really shocking."

The teenager was one of at least 17 people who died after getting into difficulty in water during the recent heatwave.

The family had gone to the popular rural spot at Palwasha's request to enjoy a riverside barbecue and let the children spend time in a shallow area of the water to play and cool-off.

Akbar said that at about 18:30 BST, when the car was already mostly packed for the journey home, his two daughters and niece had decided to go for a walk.

His wife had followed the three girls but lost sight of them in a crowd and, within "two to three minutes", they had gone into an area of deeper water.

"They were not supposed to go to the water at this time, we know there is deep water," the distraught father said.

Both Palwasha and her 11-year-old sister got into difficulty, but the younger girl was pulled to safety by a member of the public.

Palwasha was later rescued from the water and taken to hospital, but died a short time later despite efforts to save her.

Irshad described it as a "terrible accident".

"It's a really tough and difficult time. We are not able to manage it yet," he said.

"We are missing her. We are going through agony."

He said Palwasha was kind, caring, and had been a "star pupil" at Bronte Girls' Secondary Academy who loved school and never missed a day.

"Everyone is crying for her, everybody is missing her, her teachers, friends, cousins, everyone," he added.

Palwasha's family and community are now fundraising for charitable causes, hoping to create something "positive and lasting in her name".

Irshad said he wanted to implement safety measures in the area as part of this, including life jackets and a fence around areas of particularly deep water.

"I want to shield children basically from what happened with us; I don't want anyone to be affected like us."

He said children could be unpredictable and parents should "always stay close" to them and "expect anything".

"[People] should be really careful about the deep water and the children there," he added.

"Parents, they have a responsibility, to show them and keep them away from danger."

Among those who died during the heatwave were Reco Puttock, 13, who got into difficulty at Leadbeater Dam near Halifax, Muhammed Secka, 16, who went missing at Rother Valley Country Park in South Yorkshire and Mackenzie Swift, 11, who entered the River Don in Mexborough.

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