PRINCE WILLIAM AND PRINCESS KATE: Nurse who took prank call found dead
Oh no! Katakot naman! The nurse who took a prank call at the London hospital that was
treating Prince William's pregnant wife Kate for morning sickness has
been found dead, the hospital said on Friday.
The death, which police said they were treating as unexplained, comes
days after the King Edward VII hospital apologised after falling for the
call from an Australian radio station and relaying details about Kate's
condition.
"It is with very deep sadness that
we confirm the tragic death of a member of our nursing staff, Jacintha
Saldanha," the hospital said in a statement.
"We
can confirm that Jacintha was recently the victim of a hoax call to the
hospital. The hospital had been supporting her," the statement said.
Police said they had been called at 9:35 a.m. (0935 GMT) about a woman
found unconscious at an address near the hospital. The woman was
pronounced dead at the scene by ambulance staff.
The announcement on Monday that Kate was pregnant with a future British
king or queen sparked a media frenzy and generated worldwide interest.
William and Kate, who left the hospital on Thursday, said they were "deeply saddened" by the death.
"Their Royal Highnesses were looked after so wonderfully well at all
times by everybody at King Edward VII Hospital, and their thoughts and
prayers are with Jacintha Saldanha's family, friends and colleagues at
this very sad time," a statement from William's office said.
Two presenters from Australia's 2Day radio station called the hospital
early on Tuesday British time, pretending to be William's grandmother
Queen Elizabeth and his father, the heir-to-the throne Prince Charles.
Presenters Michael Christian and Mel Greig were put through to the ward
where Kate was being treated and were given details about how she was
faring.
The hospital issued a statement after
the prank was revealed saying it deeply regretted the incident and said
it was reviewing its "telephone protocols".
The
prank call and its tragic aftermath comes as Britain's own
scandal-hungry press scrambles to agree a new system of self regulation
following a damning inquiry into their reporting practices.
A recording of the call was widely available on the Internet and many newspapers printed a transcript of the call.
The Australian radio station had previously apologised for the call, saying it was done with the "best intentions".
But some people leaving comments on the station's website had been
unimpressed. "You have probably cost a young nurse her job ... Never
mind that you violated a woman's privacy. Never mind, it was all done
for fun," one said.
Facebook tribute pages
swiftly set up after the nurse's death attracted messages of sympathy,
some calling for the radio station to pay compensation to her family and
others for the presenters to resign.
Saldanha's
body was removed from the redbrick, five-storey building where it was
found, and transferred to a small private ambulance, shortly after the
hospital confirmed her death, a Reuters reporter at the scene said.
Detectives and forensics staff had earlier been seen entering and
leaving the building, which contains residental apartments and
adminstrative offices for the hospital. — Reuters
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