NEWS

Evgeniya Chaykovskaya 

The three bodies were found of the bottom of a 31-storey building on Red Road in northern Glasgow, Scotland.

Reports in British newspaper The Times quoted a source close to the police investigation saying that the victims were a Mr Serykh, his wife and their 21-year-old son.

The Russian Foreign Ministry is currently investigating, amid counter claims that the dead family may have been from Kosovo.

Police reports say the deaths were suicide. A wardrobe was thrown from the 15^th-floor balcony to smash through security railings, before they jumped.

The husband and wife were roped together, according to some reports.

Media reports say that the neighbours met the family when they moved into the apartment two months ago, and they were waiting for a decision on their bid for asylum.

They added that that woman had been upset the day before her death, fearing that they would be denied asylum and sent back to Canada, their previous legal residence.

Unconfirmed reports say that the family has previously sought asylum in Canada from November 2000, but in 2007 they had a conflict with the Canadian authorities and had to leave. They came to the UK through Germany, the Netherlands, and Ireland.

The Times also writes that the father had mental health problems and was delusional. He claimed to be a Russian spy. After his initial asylum request was turned down, Serykh wrote a personal appeal to Queen Elizabeth II, claiming to have uncovered a Canadian government plot to assassinate her.

The 31-floor building where the family lived was the tallest tower in Europe when it was built in 1960s. In recent years it has been used as temporary housing for asylum seekers waiting for a verdict from the UK Home Office. Most current occupants come from Africa, Iraq, Afghanistan and Kosovo.