It is understood Met Police detectives will assess whether any of the deaths are suspicious as part of their investigation
A resident living in the Elephant and Castle high-rise tower block where a man, woman and child fell to their deaths said she heard “shouting and screaming” for weeks before the horrifying incident. Emergency services were called to flats on Churchyard Row at 7.29am on Wednesday (May 27), following reports that people had fallen from height, the Metropolitan Police said.
At the scene, three people – a man, a woman and a child – were found to have died, despite resuscitation attempts by emergency services. Their deaths are being treated as unexpected and the Met is investigating.
It is understood that detectives will assess whether any of the deaths are suspicious as part of their investigation. There were no other reported injuries.
One resident, who lives at the top of the building and did want to give her name, said she told detectives who knocked on her door that she had heard “shouting and screaming” consistently for two weeks prior to the incident, and that this had stopped since Wednesday.
Another resident said one of the people who died was a girl, adding: “No one has told us anything either.” He said lots of international students live in the building.
Another nearby resident said she heard sirens and that her husband came to look and saw paramedics performing CPR on Wednesday morning.
In an email to residents, building management said the police are on site and they are assisting the authorities. The email added: “We know that seeing this kind of activity in your building can be unsettling, but we wanted to reassure all residents that the building is safe. There is no risk to residents, and everything is operating as normal.”
A spokesperson for the Met Police said: “Work is under way to formally identify those who died. Their next-of-kin have been informed and are being supported by specialist officers. Detectives are urging any witnesses or anyone with information to come forward by calling 101, quoting CAD 1613/27MAY.”
A London Ambulance Service spokesperson said: “We were called at 7.31am on Wednesday, May 27 to reports of an incident on Churchyard Row. We sent a number of resources to the scene including ambulance crews, a paramedic in a fast response car, an incident response officer and paramedics from our hazardous area response team (HART). We also dispatched a trauma team in a car from London’s Air Ambulance.
“Our first paramedic arrived in around four minutes. Very sadly, despite the best efforts of our crews, three people were pronounced dead at the scene.”
If you knew any of the people who died and would like to pay tribute you can do so by emailing [email protected]
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