Two teenagers died after falling from a block of flats while having sex on a balcony, witnesses say.
The
18-year-old man and 19-year-old woman died after what Scotland Yard
said was a 'tragic accident' shortly after midnight at Knights Tower in
Wharf Street, Deptford, south London.
Neighbours said a party was taking place inside the sixth-floor flat at the time of the incident.
Two teenagers died after plunging from the sixth floor balcony (circled) of this riverside apartment block
Samson Oguntayo, 32, a self-employed
events manager who lives in neighboring Cornmill House, said he and his
partner saw the couple fall.
Mr
Oguntayo said: 'They were trying to have sex on the balcony, the guy
was lifting the girl and putting her on the bannister, he kept on doing
it.
'He was putting her on there - they were going back and forth. You could see they were doing some really dangerous stuff.
'It is not the first time we have seen people on the balcony acting up.
Samson Oguntayo discovered the bodies of the two teenagers this morning
'At
some point friends must have come outside and they got down and came
back inside and then came back out again. This time they started doing
it again.
'You see people on
the balcony doing all sorts of things and I just felt it was one of
those things and in a moment they will probably go back inside.
'The last thing I expected was to see them falling down five floors. We just screamed.'
He
said he ran down and jumped over a fence and discovered the couple in a
pool of blood. He said it was believed there were around seven students at the party.
Bouquets of flowers have been placed at the foot of the tower, which has spectacular views of the Thames and Canary Wharf.
Detective
Chief Superintendent Helen Millichap, the borough commander for
Greenwich, said: 'We believe this was a tragic accident involving two
young people who were students attending a local college.
'We
cannot release detailed information at the moment because we are still
informing their families.
'We will work closely with the college to make
sure any affected students receive information and support. Our thoughts
are with the family and friends of these young people.'
Pictured: A view of the balcony where the victims are believed to have fallen from
A general view of Knights Tower where two teenagers fell to their deaths this morning
The teenagers were pronounced dead at the scene after they fell from this building in Deptford
Another
resident, who lives in the block opposite Knights Tower and did not
want to be identified, said he saw a couple 'frolicking' on the balcony
last night.
'The occupants
were inside, these two were on the balcony. We were shutting our blinds
when we saw a couple on their balcony frolicking. They were kissing and
stuff, she was telling him to get off her.
'We then shut our balcony.'
He said less than 10 minutes later he heard a 'bang'.
His female partner, who also did not wish to be identified, said: 'We thought someone had been shot.'
He said a neighbour had witnessed the couple falling.
'She
saw him lift her up and put her on the edge of the balcony. She said
she had her arms around his neck and then he was stood against her,
kissing her. Then she saw his legs stumble backwards - he stumbled
backwards and she stumbled the other way. Then they both fell off.'
The accident happened at Knights Tower (left) on the banks of the Thames in south London
The
couple from opposite Knights Tower said they later comforted a woman
called Daria outside the block, who was 'hysterical' after the accident.
Daria said she was the dead woman's best friend.
Police officers were called to the scene at 00.13am by paramedics who attended, Scotland Yard said.
Shradha
Chaturvedi, 31, an auditor and resident of the second floor of Knights
Tower, said she had heard a loud 'boom' last night, which she believed
to be a firework at first.
'I
heard a very, very loud noise and a lady screaming initially - I heard a
boom and at first I thought a firework had gone off or something,' she
said.
'My husband came down
and there were two other guys outside who were totally drunk. They said
"Don't go out there". There was a woman out there who was crying.'
Maureen
Flynn, 22, a resident of a neighbouring block, said: 'I did not see
them fall but I saw their friends come out on to the balcony. They were
crying, they did not know what had happened.
'I had to tell them "Your friends are dead".'
'We thought someone had been shot'
Neighbour
Ellen
Faulkner, 31, a resident of the nearby Canterbury House block, who gave
birth to a baby boy four days ago, said the shock of hearing about the
deaths had left her 'shaking' last night.
'This is a new building, you don't expect anything like this to happen,' she said.
The colleges where the two teenagers were studying released a statement today.
The
18-year-old man who died was a student at Embassy College campus while
the 19-year-old woman was studying at Bellerbys College - both in
Deptford, South East London.
Paul McGregor, principal
of Bellerbys College London and David Rowland, from the Centre Director
Embassy London issued a joint statement today saying: 'The police
informed us of a tragic off-campus accident in the early hours of
Wednesday June 11, in which a student from Embassy London and a student
from Bellerbys London, aged 18 and 19 respectively, fell from the
balcony of a privately owned London residence, and were pronounced dead
at the scene.
'Police are not treating the incident as suspicious but will continue to investigate.
'We
are supporting the families of the deceased through this very difficult
time. Counselling services are available to all students and staff at
the college.'
A cafe owner said the teenagers were
likely to have been celebrating the end of their recent exams and were
most likely to be from wealthy foreign families.
The man, who did not want to be named, said: 'It's so heartbreaking.
'Students from Bellerbys are so well mannered, decent and kind.
'Because English is their second language, their English is amazing. They're all gentlemen and ladies.
'I usually have groups from Singapore, Mexico and Russia but none have come into the shop today.
'It
costs about £42,000 a year to do a foundation course there. They do it
so they can get into university. They come here to study after doing an
International Baccalaureate in their own country.
'Yesterday
was the last day of their exams and they were probably out celebrating
the end of the academic year. They deserve to party, they work really
hard.'
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