Woman Plunges to Death from Boston, Mass. Roof Shaft

Boston police and fire officials say a woman plunged four stories to her death down a shaft on a building’s roof.

Acting Deputy Fire Chief Ronald Marston tells the Boston Herald that the woman fell Saturday night from a seven-story roof to the third floor of a south Boston building through a blind shaft. He says the shaft couldn’t be accessed from inside the building.

Firefighters used sledgehammers and power cutters to break down the walls and reach the woman, who was in her early 20s. She was pronounced dead at the scene.

Marston says the woman’s companion had difficulty directing rescuers to the shaft.

Police Deputy Superintendent Alfredo Andres says authorities will investigate how the duo reached the roof and how the woman fell.