A Surrey toddler plunged to her death Thursday night after falling from the balcony of a ninth-floor apartment.
Surrey RCMP received multiple 911 calls when the girl fell, one from a woman who thought she saw someone jump or fall from the ninth floor of an apartment building at 13353 108 Ave.
The little girl apparently left the room where she was watching TV, climbed on a chair on the balcony, and fell over the railing.
Her mother, stepfather and brother were in a different room at the time.
Surrey RCMP Sgt. Drew Grainger called the incident “tragic” and noted with the hot weather, more people are keeping their windows and patio doors open.
“These (things) are completely preventable and they’re predictable,” said Grainger. “We see it every time this time of year, where children fall from heights, because they’re unattended or left for just a few moments in positions where they can become vulnerable.”
As Surrey’s population densifies and more highrises are constructed, more of these accidents are bound to occur, unless residents are hypervigilant, he said.
Police are investigating but believe the death of the two-and-a-half-year-old to be an unfortunate accident.
