Woman dies after falling from city flat during party

A WOMAN has died after plunging from the window ledge of flat during a party in the early hours of the morning.

• A stretcher and blood-stained sheet were visible to passers by. Picture: Toby Williams

The 31-year-old woman, who has not been named, was found lying in the basement area of the flat in Edinburgh's New Town.

The incident happened at about 2.30am yesterday at the property in Dundas Street.

Emergency services and paramedics were unable to revive her and she was declared dead at the scene.

Police said they were investigating the incident in which the woman had fallen from a window. They said inquiries are ongoing and no further information was available.

The basement area immediately in front of Braemore Property Lettings remained cordoned off by police yesterday evening. A floral tribute had been placed on the railings.

A man who answered the door of the first-floor property where the tragedy happened said he did not want to comment.

Chris Thompson, 29, a bank worker, who lives on the top floor of the building, said: "I knew the people in the flat were having a party because I saw a couple of beer bottles on the stairs.

"They haven't been there that long, I think the flat is let to students; lots of flats on the stair are either festival lets or short- term student lets.

"I came home at midnight and I heard some noise like music, but it wasn't raucous, when I walked past their door.

"My bedroom is at the back, so I didn't see or hear anything."

Lal Bakshi, 60, who runs a grocery store at the corner of the block, said police were there when he came to open up at 5:15am yesterday.

Mr Bakshi said: "Police officers came into my shop when I opened up at 5am and I heard them saying the girl had fallen and banged her head."

Linda Frame, an art dealer, who lives in a basement flat at nearby Jamaica Street, said: "This is all a bit of a shock. It's just tragic.

"My bedroom is at the back of the building and I woke up around the time the accident happened because of all the noise going on.

"I heard a lot of screaming, but that's not unusual with so many students living nearby. I just thought it was people having a Saturday night party.

"My flatmate had been out and saw all the police activity and our part of the street cordoned off when he came home at 3am. He phoned to let me know."

Brothers Robbie Dickson, 30, and Douglas Dickson, 27, who live opposite the flat witnessed the aftermath of the incident as they returned home.

Robbie Dickson said: "We came back at around 3am and we could see two ambulances and five police cars.

"There were about 15 people sitting on the steps of the flat and they were clearly upset, some were crying.

"Other people were being questioned by police on their own.

"There were about 25 people there in total, it looked like there had been a party going on.

"I came back out about an hour later and most of the people had gone, there were just a couple of police and a plain- clothes guy left."

Douglas Dickson said: "I asked the plainclothes what was happening and he just said it was an ongoing investigation, he wouldn't say anything else."

Jim Mackenzie, 35, who was staying with friends at in Dundas Street, said: "I didn't know anything about it until I went out at 10:30 this morning.

"I noticed a sheet with blood stains on it and a plastic bit of board which someone said was a stretcher lying in the basement area. None of it had been screened from passersby."