Woman plunges from 11th-floor Wan Chai flat ... and survives with scratches and minor rib fractures
Ukrainian woman, 34, hit several clothes drying racks on the way down, breaking her fall
PUBLISHED : Friday, 26 February, 2016, 2:16pm
UPDATED : Saturday, 27 February, 2016, 2:30am
Clifford Lo
[email protected]
The woman fell from a flat believed to be occupied by a Russian man (left), who was questioned by police on Friday morning. Photo: SCMP Pictures
A police investigation is under way after a woman from Ukraine survived a plunge from the 11th-floor Wan Chai flat of a Russian man in the early hours of yesterday.
Detectives are trying to piece together why 34-year-old Oksana Birkun, was in the flat of Alexander Medvedev, 30, and how she fell.
Birkun, who is understood to be an unemployed musician, suffered minor arm and leg injuries plus rib fractures in the fall at Everwin Mansion in Johnston Road at around 3am yesterday.
Last night, she was in a stable condition at Queen Mary Hospital in Pok Fu Lam.
A source with knowledge of the police investigation said a series of clothes drying racks broke Birkun’s fall before she landed on a tin-sheeted canopy on the building’s fifth floor.
“She was so lucky, she was just like a pinball, hitting clothes drying racks on the exterior of the building, which apparently broke the force of her fall and saved her life,” the source said.
“Witnesses said she remained conscious after the fall and was yelling for help,” a police spokesman said.
The 11th-floor subdivided flat she fell from is understood to be occupied by Medvedev – who is also a Hong Kong resident.
Investigators are also trying to establish whether or not Birkun and Medvedev knew each other and how they met.
According to a police source, Oksana said she was an unemployed musician who lives in Tsim Sha Tsui. Medvedev is understood to be in publishing.
