Schoolgirl falls to her death during family outing at KL mall

A schoolgirl fell to her death from the third floor of a shopping mall in Kuala Lumpur today.

The 7-year-old, identified as Nurul Emielda Nadia Sallehuddin, died on the spot in the 2.20pm incident due to severe head injuries.

The incident occurred near the Robinsons outlet at The Gardens Mall in Mid Valley City, Kuala Lumpur, witnessed by hundreds of tenants and shoppers, mainly comprising families enjoying the first weekend of the current school holidays.

According to one shopper, Nurul Emeilda was playing with her brother near the escalator on the third floor when she accidentally fell to her death.

A man working in one of the stores in the mall said he heard a loud scream coming from the top floor and rushed out.

"I tried to extend my hand while running towards the girl, hoping that I would be able to catch her but it happened so fast," said the man on conditions of anonymity.

He said she started bleeding from the trauma to the head almost immediately after the body hit the ground.

"The place was crowded with people in seconds. People were screaming. Her parents were too," he said, adding that the incident happened around 2pm and the management handled the situation immediately.

Brickfields police chief assistant commissioner Muhammad Azlee Abdullah confirmed the case and said the body has been sent to Universiti Malaya Medical Centre for a post-mortem.

This is the second incident within the last 48 hours in which a young girl has died under tragic circumstances.

Siti Soffea Emelda, who was two-and-a-half years old, was found decapitated two nights ago by the banks of the Klang River, not far from the Kuala Lumpur KTM Komuter station (formerly the main railway station), a few hours after she was abducted at the Kota Raya Shopping Complex in Kuala Lumpur.

In the incident which shocked the nation, two witnesses said they saw a man carrying a toddler making his way through the long grass at the river banks.

The eyewitnesses seeing the suspect strangling the victim while pushing her onto the ground, alerted the auxiliary police at the nearby Public Bank building.

"The suspect then grabbed something that appeared to be a ceramic object, using it to hit the victim," a police source said.

The suspect fled from the auxiliary police before jumping into the Klang River.

After two days of search along the river, the body of the suspect was found this afternoon.

Selangor Fire and Rescue Department assistant operations director Mohd Sani Harul confirmed the recovery of the body at 4pm near the banks of Sungai Petaling Jaya in Sunway Selangor.

Azizan also said police have confirmed that the body found was that of the suspect.

Police believe that the suspect had attempted to rape the girl, and hit her when she struggled.