A woman in her 60s has been found dead at the same seaside beauty spot where a couple fell to their deaths the day before.
Her body was discovered below the cliffs at Whitby Abbey by a member of the public at 12.53pm on Thursday, July 31.
The day before, a couple, believed to be aged in their 40s, were seen heading towards the cliffs on a path on the North Yorkshire coast.
Their bodies were recovered from the rocks below the 180ft cliffs on Wednesday evening following the apparent suicide pact.
Police, ambulance, coastguard, mountain rescue and lifeboat teams were called after reports of the the third death, which is believed to have involved a fall from the cliff.
Due to the rocky location and high tide, mountain rescue assisted in recovering the woman’s body to the lifeboat before being taken to the lifeboat house.
North Yorkshire Police are not linking this latest death, which is not believed to be suspicious, to the alleged double suicide, which the force continue to investigate.
The area beside the historic 7th-century Abbey, which sits on the clifftop over the historic fishing port of Whitby, has been busy with people setting up for a vintage steam engine rally.
A security guard at the steam rally, commenting on the earlier tragedy, said: ‘The place was full of police and emergency vehicles trying to recover the bodies.
‘They had to be winched up by the coastguard helicopter one at a time because the tide was fast coming in.
‘It’s heartbreaking.’
The couple had been strolling along the cliff too path and had greeted fellow walkers before sneaking through a gap in a safety fence.
Shocked witnesses recalled seeing the pair stride up to the cliff edge, before falling to their deaths.
They then claim to have seen them turn to face the sea before jumping off and falling to their deaths.
A member of the public alerted the police at 7.16pm after spotting a man and woman on the rocks below.
The coastguard scrambled to recover their bodies while the tide was rapidly coming in, as mountain rescue teams went down the cliff on ropes to get to them.
Their bodies were airlifted from the cliffs at 8.24pm before they were taken to hospital by paramedics.
Brian Vickers, 63, was camping on the cliff nearby when ‘all hell broke loose’.
‘Police, ambulances, and mountain rescue and coastguard helicopters were on the scene very quickly,’ he said.
‘The helicopter was here around 8pm on Wednesday night. The path leading to the cliff was extremely busy with walkers and dog walkers.
‘I was told the couple who died were walking along the path. Another couple were coming the other way.
‘The next thing we know is they jumped. It was absolutely horrific to see. The poor souls did not stand a chance. They fell straight onto the rocks below.
‘The coastguard helicopter arrived in an hour and we witnessed the horrific scene of them being winched from the beach to waiting ambulances on the cliff top.
‘The police told me they were searching for their car nearby but had not found it yet. The whole thing was over and everyone had gone by 11pm.’
Another rally attendee said: ‘People were saying that the couple had been saying “hello” to walkers, as you do, and looked to be enjoying a nice evening walk before they jumped off.
‘It is dreadfully sad. But it seems to have been a deliberate act, not an accident.’
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