Story By: Georgina Jadikovska, Sub-Editor: Marija Stojkoska, Agency: Newsflash

A young Swiss graffiti artist has died after sustaining serious injuries while trying to escape from the police.

Rahel K., 29, tragically lost her life at Bern-Bumpliz railway station in Switzerland on Saturday while being chased by the police.

Local media said the victim fell from a two-metre-high wall she scaled while running from the cops and hit her head on the ground.

The police found her and a group of other graffiti artists spray-painting a train at around 2am.

Rahel K., who was a teacher and considered a key member on the graffiti scene, was immediately taken to hospital, but she died the next morning.

Her friends and acquaintances gathered at the train station on Sunday to express their grief and raise awareness of alleged police brutality.

A local resident said: “Of course Rahel K. did something illegal, but it was surely unnecessary to hunt her down for it. The police could have let the sprayers run away and catch them later on.”

Graffiti artists and friends of Rahel criticised the authorities on ‘www.anarchistische.ch’, saying: “At Bumpliz station, sprayers are repeatedly chased and sometimes seriously injured.”

The public prosecutor’s office in the district of Bern-Mittelland in Switzerland started investigations to determine the circumstances of the fall.

Patrick Jean, a spokesperson from the Canton Police in the city of Bern, said five people were caught by several police patrols on Saturday and added: “They approached them from different angles. The aim of such an operation is to stop the suspects and carry out a personal check.”

Jean claimed the police only started chasing the sprayers after they started to run away but were “verbally asked to stop”.

The police were able to catch two men and one woman involved in the illegal spraying act, but released them after they were brought to the station.

The incident is still under investigation.

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