New bride's sister dies in tragic fall

Wedding celebrations turned to tragedy when the sister of the bride slipped and fell to her death at the weekend.

Philippa Tucker, 25, fell about 3.5m from the mezzanine floor on to the concrete ground floor of the villa where she had been sleeping, Acting Senior Sergeant Thomas McIntyre, of New Plymouth police said.

Paramedics treated her at the scene about 5am and she died about 2pm in Taranaki Base Hospital, he told the Taranaki Daily Times.

Mr McIntyre said it was a "tragic mishap".

"There are no suspicious circumstances."

He said the others in the villa, at Oakura, 14km southwest of New Plymouth, were asleep when the tragedy occurred and were woken by her groaning."

The death had been referred to the coroner.

Ms Tucker's family are well known around New Plymouth.

Her father is photographer Rob Tucker and her grandfather, Roy Burkitt, was New Plymouth deputy mayor in the 1970s.

Her uncle, well known journalism educator Jim Tucker, acting as spokesman for the family said about 60 friends and family had attended the wedding of Jaclyn Tucker and Melbourne man Ash Rowan.

A planned backyard cricket match and barbecue yesterday had become a sombre day to remember Philippa, Mr Tucker said.

Ms Tucker was a ground staff airline attendant based in Christchurch.

Her funeral will be held in New Plymouth on Wednesday.

- NZPA