A pair of teenagers plunged to their deaths from a sixth-floor balcony while trying to have sex, a witness has claimed.
The 18-year-old man and 19-year-old woman were both pronounced dead at the scene near a block of luxury apartments overlooking the River Thames this morning.
Police are investigating but have said they believe it to be a “tragic accident”.
Samson Oguntayo, 32, a self-employed events manager who lives in the neighbouring Cornmill House, said he and his partner Blessing had seen the couple fall.
“They were trying to have sex on the balcony, the guy was lifting the girl and putting her on the bannister, he kept on doing it,” he said.
“He was putting her on there – they were going back and forth. You could see they were doing some really dangerous stuff.
“It is not the first time we have seen people on the balcony acting up.
“At some point friends must have come outside and they got down and came back inside and then came back out again.
“This time they started doing it again.
“You see people on the balcony doing all sorts of things and I just felt it was one of those things and in a moment they will probably go back inside.
“The last thing I expected was to see them falling down five floors.
“We just screamed.”
He said he had run down and jumped over a fence and discovered the couple in a pool of blood.
He said it was believed that there were around seven foreign students at the party.
Another resident who lives in the opposite block to Knights Tower in Deptford, South London, said the pair were seen kissing before they fell.
He said: “The occupants were inside, these two were on the balcony. We were shutting our blinds when we saw a couple on their balcony frolicking.
“They were kissing and stuff, she was telling him to get off her.
“We then shut our balcony.”
The man, who did not want to be named, said less than 10 minutes later he heard a “bang”.
His female partner, who also asked not to be identified, said: “We thought someone had been shot.”
The man said another neighbour witnessed the couple fall.
“She saw him lift her up and put her on the edge of the balcony, she said she had her arms around his neck and then he was stood against her kissing her. Then she saw his legs stumble backwards – he stumbled backwards and she stumbled the other way. Then they both fell off.”
The couple said they later comforted a woman called Daria outside the block who was “hysterical” after the accident. Daria had said she was the dead woman’s best friend.
A police spokesman said officers are not treating the deaths as suspicious, but will continue to investigate.
Officers were called to Knights Tower in Deptford, South London, by the London Ambulance Service shortly after midnight.
Inspector Shaun Carre-Brown said: “This appears to be a tragic accident and our thoughts go out to the families and those that knew them.
“The couple were at a party in the block when this tragedy occurred.
“I would urge any witnesses to make contact with detectives.”
