An inquest has opened into the deaths of a family of three who fell 400 feet (roughly 120 metres) from the balcony of their 36th-floor flat at the Highpoint tower in Elephant and Castle, south London, on the morning of 27 May. A short hearing at London Inner South Coroner's Court was told that consultant Rakesh Pai, 47, his wife Aditi Paralkar, 46, and their terminally ill nine-year-old son Sid all died almost instantly of multiple injuries. The case is notable for the scale of the tragedy, involving an entire family and a gravely ill child.

The three were pronounced dead within 20 minutes of each other by air ambulance medics at the scene. Police officers identified them by comparing the bodies with their passport photographs. PC Jack Morgan, whose unit was first to attend and to reach the roof area, said in a statement that he performed CPR on Sid before the boy was pronounced dead. As is standard, the inquest was opened and adjourned, with a fuller hearing to follow at a later date.