Family of three die in 400ft fall from luxury apartment on 36th floor of London tower block
Residents reported hearing “shouts and screams” from their apartment in the weeks before they fell.
A family of three has died after plunging 400ft from the balcony of their luxury apartment in south London.
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Emergency services were called to Churchyard Row in Elephant and Castle at 7.30am on Wednesday following reports that people had fallen from height on Churchyard Row.
A man, woman and child were found dead after plunging into the courtyard from the 36th floor of Highpoint Building, a luxury tower of flats mostly rented by wealthy international students and middle-class young professionals.
Residents of the Highpoint tower said they were unaware of the identities of the dead family members, but reported hearing “shouts and screams” from their apartment in the weeks before they fell to their deaths.
One resident said: “I heard shouting and screaming for the past two weeks. It has stopped since Wednesday.
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“Police knocked on the door and asked if I had heard shouting and screaming. I told them yes and I assumed it was a domestic.”
Other residents said last week they hadn’t received much information about what had happened.
“Detectives knocked on my door and asked if I had heard screaming or shouting. I told them that I had and that it had been going on for about two weeks
“The building sent an email round at about midday on Wednesday but they haven’t given us much information, just that it was a tragic incident and not related to security in the building,” another resident told The Sun.
Canadian real estate group Realstar Living redeveloped Highpoint Building into a 46-storey luxury block of flats kitted out with a Sky Lounge top-floor bar and a 180-seat theatre.
It is also said to boast views to “make the Shard Jealous” with claims being the tallest apartment building in the capital, with the London Eye, Wembley and the River Thames on display for wealthy residents on higher floors.
Each flat comes with a large living, dining and kitchen area boasting premium appliances, designer furniture and a private balcony with glass barriers.
Few families reportedly live in the block, with most inhabitants being wealthy students attending nearby univerisities including Kings College London, London South Bank and University of Arts, according to the Daily Mail.
The Metropolitan Police said there were no other reported injuries after the family was found dead outsite the tower.
It added that work is underway to formally identify those who died.
“Their next-of-kin have been informed and are being supported by specialist officers,” a spokesperson said.
A London ambulance service spokesperson said: “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.”
LBC has approached the Met for comment.