Pregnant woman jumps to death over fees

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CAIRO, June 27 (UPI) -- A pregnant Egyptian woman jumped to her death apparently in despair because her family couldn't afford to pay its bills.

The 30-year-old woman, who was married to a laborer, was reportedly depressed because the couple already couldn't pay their bills before she learned she was nine months pregnant, the Egyptian daily al-Masry al-Youm reported. The article was translated from Arabic by the news service al-Arabiya.net Friday.

Her mother told the newspaper that the woman had locked herself in her apartment and refused to speak to anyone until emerging Tuesday.

"She collapsed in tears," the mother said, adding that she asked for forgiveness as she had drunk insecticide to "get rid of the world and its problems".

While the mother tried to talk her daughter into going to the hospital and began shouting for

help, her pregnant daughter walked toward the balcony and the jumped from the third floor.

She was then taken to a hospital in a critical condition, where she later was declared dead.

It is estimated that 1-in-5 Egyptians cannot meet basic living needs, U.N. statistics indicate.