Toddler killed in seventh-floor tower block plunge

A toddler has died after falling from the seventh floor of a block of flats, police said.

The 18-month-old girl was declared dead at the scene in Great Hampton Row, in the Hockley area of Birmingham, shortly before noon on Monday.

West Midlands Police said on Tuesday that an investigation has been launched, with a spokeswoman saying: "The death is currently being treated as unexplained."

A West Midlands Ambulance Service spokesman said: "Crews arrived to find a girl who had fallen from a window.

"Unfortunately, it quickly became apparent that nothing could be done to save her and she was confirmed dead at the scene."

A local shop owner, who did not want to be named, said: "I was inside my shop when I heard people shouting and screaming and heard the bad news.

"People are very, very sad - they are feeling it very bad. I don't know the family, they might have been new to the area.

"It is quite a close community, there are two big communities here - the Jamaican community and Somalian community, they have a good relationship with each other.

"From what I saw people are very sad from this incident."