Four dead in as many days at seaside beauty spot as woman's body is found beneath cliffs after couple and another lady were discovered
Emergency services were alerted to the discovery of a body at Sandsend near Whitby Abbey just after 11am yesterday - where three others also died this week.
Police later discovered the woman's body below the cliffs behind the main car park at Sandsend.
Teams from the ambulance, police, coastguard, lifeboat and fire service all attended the scene.
The woman's body was recovered at 12.55pm and the location was reopened to the public a few hours later following extensive enquiries.
The woman's death follows the double tragedy of a man and woman - believed to be in their 40s - who plunged to their deaths from 200ft cliffs behind Whitby Abbey on Wednesday evening.
The couple were seen heading towards the cliffs on a path on the North Yorkshire coast.
Their bodies were recovered from the rocks below the 180ft cliffs on Wednesday evening following the apparent suicide pact.
A day later on Thursday, a woman in her 60s was found dead by the cliffs near Whitby Pavilion.
Police, ambulance, coastguard, mountain rescue and lifeboat teams were called after reports of the woman's death, which is believed to have involved a fall from the cliff.
Due to the rocky location and high tide, mountain rescue assisted in recovering the woman's body to the lifeboat before being taken to the lifeboat house.
North Yorkshire Police are not linking the third death, which is not believed to be suspicious, to the alleged double suicide, which the force continue to investigate.
The area beside the historic 7th-century Abbey, which sits on the clifftop over the historic fishing port of Whitby, has been busy with people setting up for a vintage steam engine rally.
North Yorkshire Police said of the latest tragedy that the woman's death is not being treated as suspicious.
The force said in a statement: 'It has been confirmed that the woman is aged in her 50s and from the local area.
'Officers are supporting the woman's family at this difficult time.
'The death is not being treated as suspicious and a report is being prepared for the coroner.'
Anyone who witnessed the incident or who has information that could assist officers have been urged to contact police on 101 quoting reference number 12250143585.
The force underlined: 'There are no connections between this sudden death, the sudden deaths of a man and woman below Whitby Abbey on Wednesday 30 July or the woman below Whitby Abbey on Thursday 31 July.'
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Independent
34 minutes ago
- The Independent
Bullying sparks protests in China after viral video shows classmates beating teen
A school bullying incident in China 's Sichuan province sparked public outrage and protests after a viral video showed three female students beating and humiliating a 14-year-old classmate. Authorities sent two of the attackers to correctional school for assaulting and verbally abusing the teenager, but many citizens criticised the punishment as too lenient, especially after reports revealed the girl had faced bullying for a long time and her deaf mother had repeatedly pleaded for help. One of the attackers allegedly claimed that she had been detained by police over 10 times and always walked free within 20 minutes, further inflaming public anger. On Monday, nearly 1,000 people gathered outside local government offices in Jiangyou in Sichuan province to protest and clashed with police. Footage showed officers using batons and electric prods, injuring several protesters. A video verified to have been filmed outside the city hall showed police – both in blue uniforms and plainclothes – forcibly pulling two people aside, including a woman in a black dress who was dragged away by her limbs. 'They are sweeping away citizens everywhere,' a person was heard saying as the woman was taken away. In a video shared by Yesterday BigCat, a YouTube channel documenting protests in China, a demonstrator angrily recalled one of the attackers boasting she had been detained multiple times before and released without consequence. Police said the teen's beating, which happened last month and left her with several bruises on the scalp and knees, was filmed and shared online by bystanders. Many citizens condemned the punishment as too lenient. 'The sentence is too light,' a comment on Chinese social media site Weibo read, 'that is why they were so arrogant.' 'The penalty for causing minor injuries is too mild, while the physical and mental trauma suffered by victims is overlooked by the law, which leads to a significant imbalance in the protection of their rights,' the BBC quoted a Shanghai lawyer as writing on Weibo. Authorities denied online rumours the attackers were daughters of powerful officials and punished two individuals for spreading misinformation, according to the Guardian. 'Two of the parents are unemployed, two are working outside the province, one is a local salesperson, and one is a local delivery driver,' police said in a statement, refuting the rumours. In 2023, protests erupted in Shangqiu in Henan province after a 14-year-old boy died under suspicious circumstances. While his school claimed suicide, his parents alleged he had been physically assaulted. That incident added to growing concern over school bullying in China. That same year, authorities vowed to crack down on bullying after a court sentenced a teenage boy to life in prison for killing a classmate he had allegedly bullied for a long time.
BBC News
34 minutes ago
- BBC News
Man charged with rape after woman attacked in Portsmouth
A 26-year-old man has been charged in connection with the rape of a woman in and Isle of Wight Constabulary said the woman was attacked at an address on Greetham Street in the city on 28 June in the early force said the woman, in her 30s, was being supported by Alharbi of Greetham Street has been charged with rape and is set to to appear at Winchester Crown Court on Wednesday. You can follow BBC Hampshire & Isle of Wight on Facebook, X (Twitter), or Instagram.
The Guardian
an hour ago
- The Guardian
Sydney man arrested for allegedly selling vapes ‘supercharged' with dangerous synthetic opioid
A Sydney man has become the first person in Australia to be arrested for allegedly selling vapes 'supercharged' with a dangerous and highly addictive synthetic opioid. Police announced the arrest of 20-year-old Sam Al Roubaye and seizure of 2.1kg of nitazene after raiding a home on Friday at Revesby in western Sydney. Police alleged Al Roubaye had been running a sophisticated distribution operation of nitazene since March, police said on Wednesday. Vials were allegedly marketed as 'supercharged' and intended for use in vapes. Sign up: AU Breaking News email The nitazene bust comes as some of Australia's toughest penalties for selling illegal tobacco and vapes are to be introduced into NSW parliament on Wednesday. 'Nitazenes are highly addictive, incredibly potent and can be lethal,' NSW Police drug squad Cmdr John Watson said. Al Roubaye was refused bail at Parramatta local court on a commercial drug supply charge after police allegedly found vape hardware, vials containing 300 grams of nitazene and $7,180 in cash during a search on Friday. Two imitation firearms, an electrical weapon and a safe were also seized. The safe was opened on Monday, revealing 1.8kg more of nitazene. '(The arrest) demonstrates a disturbing evolution in the illicit drug trade, but our squad is constantly adapting to meet these emerging threats head-on,' Det Supt Watson said. NSW Health's chief addiction medicine specialist, Hester Wilson, warned synthetic opioids including nitazene were extremely dangerous. She urged those using recreational drugs to carry naloxone, a life-saving medicine that can reverse an opioid overdose. It is available free at some pharmacies. Under the proposed NSW restrictions, health inspectors will be granted substantial powers to close premises found to be in breach of the new rules. Sign up to Breaking News Australia Get the most important news as it breaks after newsletter promotion Steep increases in the federal tax on legal tobacco had fuelled massive growth in the hidden market and current punishments were not dissuading anyone, the premier, Chris Minns, said. 'I won't allow NSW to be a dumping ground,' he said on Wednesday. The use of nitazenes has been recognised by medical professionals as a growing problem. The NSW health department last year issued a public warning about the danger of synthetic opioids after a cluster of drug overdoses linked to the synthetic opioid in the Nepean Blue Mountains area. Consumption of nitazenes is often unwitting, with the opioids illegally sold as, or mixed into, recreational drugs including methamphetamines, cocaine, heroin, ketamine, oxycodone, synthetic cannabinoids, MDMA, GHB and counterfeit pharmaceuticals, as well as in vaping devices. Nitazenes have been linked to more than 200 deaths in North America and Europe between 2019 and 2023.
