Pictured: Boy, 17, who drowned after vanishing in lake while visiting popular castle in Wales during post-Easter heatwave

By RICHARD MARSDEN, GENERAL REPORTER and GLYN BELLIS Published: 19:11, 13 April 2026 | Updated: 19:14, 13 April 2026 A teenager whose body was found after he vanished in a lake close to a popular National Trust castle was named today at an inquest. Libyan-born student Ashamekh Bortata, 17, died after getting into difficulties in the water near Chirk Castle, near Wrexham, on the England-Wales border, last Tuesday. The inquest heard the alarm was raised by a friend, who dialled 999. Police and the North Wales fire service began a search but Ashamekh’s body was not found by divers until the following day. The inquest was opened in Ruthin, North Wales, by coroner John Gittins. The coroner said Ashamekh had travelled to the area with a number of youngsters from Liverpool - on what was one of the warmest days of the year so far. The group who had walked through woodland before reaching the lake, when Ashamekh went into the water. Mr Gittins said a pathologist had given a provisional cause of death as drowning. Funeral notice for Ashamekh Bortata, who was formally named at the opening of an inquest Chirk Castle, near Wrexham, North Wales, where a group of youngsters from Liverpool were visiting during warm weather when tragedy struck He added: ‘Clearly it’s a matter which must now proceed to a (full) inquest.’ The hearing was adjourned for further investigations. Ashamekh’s funeral was held at Liverpool’s Al-Rahma Mosque on Saturday, followed by burial. When the teenager was found, Detective Chief Superintendent Sian Beck, of North Wales Police said: 'My deepest thoughts and condolences are with his loved ones, who are being supported by specialist officers following this tragic incident.’ The small lake is situated next to the grounds of Chirk Castle, off the drive to the main entrance of the castle. The death came as Britain had the hottest April 7 on record. The Welsh island of Anglesey saw the highest temperature, with 24.8C (76.6F) recorded in Mona. The heatwave coincided with the school Easter holidays, and many people flocked to pools and beaches. No comments have so far been submitted. Why not be the first to send us your thoughts, or debate this issue live on our message boards. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook. You can choose on each post whether you would like it to be posted to Facebook. Your details from Facebook will be used to provide you with tailored content, marketing and ads in line with our Privacy Policy.