British cops contact Sydney radio station over possible probe into nurse’s death

British police have contacted Australian authorities about a possible investigation into a radio station's hoax call to a UK hospital about Kate Middleton, they said Sunday, even as the company that owns the station promised it was reviewing its broadcast practices.

The prank took a dark twist Friday with the death of nurse Jacintha Saldanha, a 46-year-old mother of two from India, three days after she unwittingly accepted the call about the health of Prince William's pregnant wife, Kate.

The death has sparked an angry backlash from those who argue the Australian DJs who carried out the hoax should be held responsible.

The board of Southern Cross Austereo had an emergency meeting Sunday to discuss a harsh letter from the hospital that fell for the call. King Edward VII's Hospital, where Kate was being treated for acute morning sickness this week, condemned the "truly appalling" hoax and called the consequences "tragic beyond words".

Max Moore-Wilton, chairman of 2DayFM owner Southern Cross Austereo, said in a letter to the hospital's chairman Sunday that the company will cooperate with any investigation.

"It is too early to know the full details leading to this tragic event and we are anxious to review the results of any investigation that may be made available to us or made public," he wrote. "I can assure you we are taking immediate action and reviewing the broadcast and processes involved."

"As we have said in our own statements on the matter, the outcome was unforeseeable and very regrettable," he wrote.

Australian police Sunday confirmed they had been contacted by London police and said they would cooperate.

The radio station callers impersonated Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Charles and received confidential details about Kate medical information. The call was recorded and broadcast.

Police have not yet determined Saldanha's cause of death, but people from London to Sydney have been making the assumption she died because of stress from the call.

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