Woman dies before Crawley Hospital charity abseil

A woman in her 90s has died moments before she was due to take part in a charity abseil in West Sussex.

The woman, who has not been named, collapsed on the roof of Crawley Hospital on Saturday.

Paramedics were called to the scene but they could not resuscitate her. The event was cancelled after the incident.

The woman was one of about 50 people due to take part in the 70ft (21.3m) abseil in aid of 4SIGHT, also known as West Sussex Association for the Blind.

A Sussex Police spokesman said: "She hadn't started the abseil but she was up on the roof when she appears to have suffered some sort of medical episode."

A spokeswoman for West Sussex Fire and Rescue Service, which sent three crews to the scene, said: "We were called to reports of a person who had collapsed from a suspected cardiac arrest at the hospital.

"It was to do with an abseil team for a charity event."

The charity 4SIGHT said the woman had previously taken part in other similar events.

A spokesperson said they were extremely saddened and their thoughts were with her family.