The inquest into the deaths of a father and daughter killed in a speedboat incident off Padstow has been opened in Truro today.

Nicholas Milligan, a senior executive with BSkyB, and his eight-year-old daughter Emily both died in the incident.

His 39-year-old wife Victoria, four-year-old son, Kit, were airlifted to Derriford Hospital with serious leg injuries following the collision in the Camel Estuary on Sunday, May 5. The couple's other children, daughters Amber (12) and Olivia (10), did not suffer serious injuries.

An initial report by the Marine Accident Investigation Branch has said a kill cord, designed to stop the boat if the driver went overboard, was not being worn at the time of the incident.

The initial report said: "At this early stage in the investigation, the mechanism that led to the family being ejected from the RHIB into the water, is not clear.

"The RHIB was fitted with a kill cord  but this was not attached to the driver at the time of the accident. Consequently, when the driver was ejected from the boat, the kill cord did not operate to stop the engine and the RHIB continued to circle out of control, and at speed.

"As the RHIB circled, it ran over the family in the water a number of times, leading to the deaths and injuries. A few minutes later a local boatman was able to board the RHIB and bring it under control before further people were hurt."

In footage recorded by a witness, the speedboat is seen going around in circles before waterskiing instructor Charlie Toogood intervenes.