Hospital: Nurse involved in Kate hoax call dies

LONDON (AP) — A nurse who fell victim to a prank telephone call seeking information about the Duchess of Cambridge's pregnancy has died, a hospital said Friday.

Jacintha Saldanha, 46, was found dead early Friday at apartments affiliated with King Edward VII hospital in central London, where she worked for four years.

The death is being treated as unexplained, but police did not find anything suspicious. It will be up to a coroner to decide how she died.

2DayFM, the Australian station that performed the prank early Tuesday, said in a statement posted on Facebook and Twitter that two disc jockeys, Mel Greig and Michael Christian, would not return to the station until further notice. They had apologized for the hoax Wednesday.

Saldanha took the hoax call by the pair, who impersonated Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Charles to elicit information on the duchess, the hospital said. Saldanha later transferred the call to the nurse caring for the duchess, who was admitted to the hospital Monday with acute morning sickness.

"Our thoughts and deepest sympathies at this time are with her family and friends," hospital chief executive John Lofthouse said in a statement. "Everyone is shocked by the loss of a much loved and valued colleague."

St. James's Palace, the office of the duchess and her husband Prince William, also expressed sadness at the death, but insisted that it had not complained about the hoax.

"On the contrary, we offered our full and heartfelt support to the nurses involved and hospital staff at all times," the palace said in a statement.

During the hoax call, a woman using the often-mimicked voice of Britain's monarch asked about the duchess' health. She was told by the second nurse who took the call from Saldanha that the duchess, the former Kate Middleton, "hasn't had any retching with me and she's been sleeping on and off."

The nurse went on to tell the personalities that the duchess had had an uneventful night, as a dog barking sound was heard in the background. The alleged queen and prince talk about traveling to the hospital to check in on the patient.

The hospital said it supported Saldanha in the aftermath of the call and that its phone protocols were under review.

The Australian station placed the recording of the conversation on its website, but later said it was sorry.

"We were very surprised that our call was put through. We thought we'd be hung up on as soon as they heard our terrible accents," Greig and Christian said in a joint statement with the station at the time. "We're very sorry if we've caused any issues and we're glad to hear that Kate is doing well."

The station's chief executive officer, Rhys Holleran, had spoken with the presenters after the nurse's death, and that both were deeply shocked. The hosts "have decided that they will not return to their radio show until further notice out of respect for what can only be described as a tragedy."

Christian's Twitter account has since been taken down.

Officials from St. James's Palace have said the duchess is not yet 12 weeks pregnant. The child would be the first for her and Prince William.

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Associated Press writers Paisley Dodds contributed to this story.