Student killed as kayak capsized

Alice had spent her gap year working in an orphanage

A gifted teenager died when the kayak she was paddling capsized, trapping her under rocks, an inquest has heard.

Alice Glenister, 18, of Prestbury, Cheltenham, was travelling down the Nam Leck river, a tributary of the Mekong in Laos, during a gap year when the accident happened on 10 May.

On Wednesday an inquest in Cirencester heard Alice's kayak overturned as it went through a series of rapids, throwing her into the water.

She became wedged under rocks and died despite desperate attempts to get her out.

River trip

The rocks trapping her eventually had to be removed using explosives to free her body.

Alice, who was due to go on to Nottingham University to study politics and history, had been teaching orphans in Thailand before travelling on to Laos where she and five others, including her best friend Chloe Bonsor, joined the river trip.

It was a tragic accident and nobody was to blame Malcolm Glenister

The inquest was told the trip guide dived straight into the water after the kayak capsized, but although he could feel Alice's hand beneath the surface, he could not pull her free.

A post-mortem examination carried out in the UK revealed Alice died from multiple injuries - the coroner, Lester Maddrell, said this indicated that she was knocked out immediately.

Recording a verdict of accidental death, Mr Maddrell described the accident as a "tragedy".

Charity launched

He said it was "the loss of an extremely talented young woman just on the threshold of her adult life".

In a statement read to the inquest, her mother, Mary, said Alice was a "wonderful person" who "lived life to the full".

She had been deputy head girl of her house at Pate's Grammar School in Cheltenham and had played hockey for her county.

Speaking after the inquest, Alice's parents, Mary and Malcolm, said they had set up a charity to raise money for the orphanage where their daughter had worked.

Mr Glenister said: "It was a tragic accident and nobody was to blame.

"Alice had been so fulfilled by working in that orphanage and was happy. She did a lot in 18 years."

He added: "The positive thing is we are getting a charitable foundation together in her name for the orphanage where Alice worked to carry on with the work she got into."

He said £2,000 had already gone towards improving accommodation for girls in the kindergarten section.