Woman dies after fall from Arthur's Seat

Emergency services in attendance at Arthur's Seat, where the woman fell. Picture: Wullie Marr

A woman has died after plunging more than 60ft down a cliff face on Arthur’s Seat.

She is believed to have fallen from the landmark, tumbling down the side of the hill and landing in a gorse bush. Emergency services were scrambled to the east side of the beauty spot after the alarm was raised at 2.40pm yesterday.

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But just over two hours later, police confirmed that the woman had died at the scene.

Mountain rescue teams abseiled from the top of the crags but the descent proved too treacherous for them and a coastguard helicopter was dispatched to airlift her body from the hillside.

A police spokesman said: “Police in Edinburgh were called to Arthur’s Seat around 2.40pm on Wednesday following a report that a woman had fallen 20 metres [65ft] down a cliff face.

“A multi-agency rescue operation was launched but the woman was sadly pronounced dead at the scene.

“Inquiries are ongoing to establish the full circumstances surrounding this.”

After the helicopter left, a woman who had been talking to paramedics was seen to break down in tears.

Medical staff tried to console her as she got into the back of a police car.

Two plain-clothes detectives arrived on the scene and began speaking to the assembled police officers.

A police spokesman said they would not confirm details of the woman’s age – or whether she was from the Edinburgh area – until her next of kin had been informed of her death.