Chinese girl, 12, falls to death from 11th-floor flat after family’s evening meal
Police have launched an investigation into why a 12-year old Chinese girl fell to her death from the window of a high-rise apartment after eating supper with members of her family, mainland media report.
The middle school student was still alive when discovered lying in a pool of blood on the ground below the 11th-floor flat, where she lived with her grandparents in Huaian, Jiangsu province, on Friday, the Yangtze Evening News reported.
A passer-by noticed a figure lying on the ground in the gloom at 7pm, but told the newspaper she had mistaken it for a discarded mannequin.
It was only two hours later, when the passer-by returned and made a closer examination, that the police were alerted.
Hospital staff said they had battled to save the girl, but she had died as a result of severe injuries suffered from the fall, the report said.
Police noticed that the window of only one flat was open above the place where the victim was found.
When they called at the flat they found four adults inside – the child’s grandparents, aunt and uncle – who all “strongly denied” anyone could have fallen from their flat, the report said.
They were unaware of any incident and told police they had not seen the child since she returned to her room after the family’s evening meal.
Police said the occupants of the flat were initially reluctant to help identify the victim. It was only when police insisted that the girl’s grandfather agreed to help them.
All four family members had wept after the girl was confirmed as the victim, police said.
The child’s parents are migrant workers, who lived and worked in Wuxi, another city in the province, the report said.
