Story By: Feza Uzay, Sub-Editor: Marija Stojkoska, Agency: Newsflash
This is the shocking moment a young woman falls to her death from the top of a historic tower in Turkey a day before her 21st birthday after a foolish stunt that involved balancing on a balcony.
It is unclear why the young woman clambered onto the balcony holding a mobile phone which she had used to call her mother when she was up there, telling her it was a beautiful view seconds before she plunged to her death.
Police are investigating whether she had been trying to take a video of the dangerous stunt to send to family, or whether it was suicide.
The family however have said that it’s ridiculous to consider that she committed suicide although police are not ruling it out following the death from the 62 metres (205 feet) high Galata Tower in Turkey’s largest city, Istanbul, on 27th May.
Hilal Yagmur, 20, can be clearly seen in the footage falling from the Galata Tower that was built in 1348 and at the time it was the tallest building in Istanbul. It has now become a tourist hotspot drawing visitors from Turkey and abroad.
The security footage captured at the top of the tower shows the moment Hilal walks into the building where dozens of tourists are admiring the 700-year-old tower from the top.
Hilal then makes her way over to the balcony and peers over the edge before climbing precariously onto the railings. It is unclear if there is a structure nearby that allows it to stand on the railings such as a viewing telescope and whether she was trying to use a phone to send a picture to her mother.
After spending a few seconds looking down at the 205-foot drop she suddenly topples forwards and died after hitting the concrete pavement below.
The aftermath of her fall is captured in the images showing shocked pedestrians standing beneath the tower waiting for an ambulance to arrive.
The emergency services arrived and attempted to resuscitate the girl but they later confirmed that she died on impact.
Local news site Egehaber reports that Hilal’s body was transferred to the morgue where an autopsy was carried out.
Speaking to local media about his daughter’s death, father Sebahattin Yagmur, age not disclosed, said: “Hilal was a very emotional person, but if she had been planning on committing suicide, she definitely would have told us.
“On the day of the incident, she called her mother from the tower and said to her, ‘Mum, it’s beautiful up here.’ It was her birthday the next day. We are devastated.”
A police investigation into the incident is ongoing.
