A Latvian model has plunged to her death in a luxury apartment block in Manchester where many Labour Party Conference delegates are staying.
Laura Pahomova, 23, was staying in a rented apartment at a complex called The Light Boutique in the Northern Quarter, but tragically fell on to a balcony nine floors below.
Her body was found at 11.30am on Sunday in a scene that one witness told The Manchester Evening News was “harrowing”.
A flatmate at her home in Blackburn told the paper: “Laura was my best friend. We are still trying to find out what happened, but the police said she fell.”
Police are not treating the death as suspicious but have launched an investigation to discover the causes of the tragedy.
A Greater Manchester Police statement said: “Emergency services were called to a block of flats on Joiner Street in Piccadilly Gardens, following reports a woman had fallen from a balcony.
“Officers attended and found that a 23-year-old woman had fallen from a balcony several floors up and landed on another balcony nine floors below.
“The woman suffered serious injuries and was pronounced dead by paramedics at the scene.
“Inquiries are ongoing to establish the circumstances surrounding this woman’s death, but it is not believed to be suspicious.”