Police Scotland has launched an investigation following the death of a 76-year-old woman at a property on Pladda Avenue in Irvine. Emergency services were called to the scene at approximately 6:15am on Tuesday, September 30, 2025, after reports of a death. The woman was pronounced dead at the location, and her family has been notified of the tragedy.

The incident prompted a significant emergency response, with police, ambulance, and fire crews descending on the North Ayrshire street. Scottish Fire and Rescue Service personnel attended the scene, including a Fire Investigation Unit van, while police established a substantial cordon around the property and adjoining streets. Officers restricted vehicle access through the area, informing residents that the closure could last up to three hours.

Authorities have indicated that the death is not believed to be suspicious, though enquiries continue to establish the full circumstances surrounding the incident. Forensic officers conducted examinations at the property, including photographing the back garden where a tarpaulin was observed covering a hedge, flanked by stepladders and secured with thin blue rope.

Police Scotland confirmed that a report will be sent to the Procurator Fiscal as part of standard procedure for unexplained deaths. The public was advised to avoid Pladda Avenue during the investigation, though the police statement emphasized that the circumstances do not currently suggest foul play in the elderly woman's passing.

Families of the 29 victims killed in the 1994 Chinook helicopter crash are escalating their decades-long fight for answers, preparing to deliver a petition with more than 47,000 signatures to Downing Street demanding a public inquiry. The Chinook Justice Campaign has published 110 "critical questions" they want answered about the tragedy that claimed the lives of 25 intelligence experts and four special forces crew members when the aircraft crashed on the Mull of Kintyre on June 2, 1994.

The campaign comes after Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer rejected calls for a judge-led inquiry into the incident, prompting families to declare they will "see the UK government in court." Among those delivering the petition on Tuesday are brothers Andy and Matt Tobias from Watford, whose father John Tobias was killed in the crash. The petition delivery will be accompanied by an attempt to deliver a letter directly to the Ministry of Defence.

Central to the families' concerns are questions about mission authorization, aircraft selection, and whether those on board were properly warned of risks. The campaign has gained momentum amid revelations that key documents related to the crash have been sealed until 2094—a century after the incident occurred. David Hill, technical expert for the Chinook Justice Campaign, characterized the government's position as "a betrayal by the state of them and their loved ones."

The crash investigation has followed a contentious path over the past three decades. Initial findings blamed pilot error for the tragedy, but this conclusion was overturned in 2011. The continuing secrecy surrounding the incident has drawn criticism from campaigners who argue it "undermines trust not only in the MoD but in the government itself." As families prepare to confront the government directly, the case represents one of Britain's longest-running military accountability battles.