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Fans mourn rising Australian star

Other News Materials 4 November 2007 18:35 (UTC +04:00)

Numerous tributes have been left online by fans mourning Charmaine Dragun, the TV newsreader whose body was found at a notorious suicide spot in Sydney.

The Network Ten star's death was "a sad and tragic loss - so heartbreaking", wrote one person on Vogue's website. "I will miss her sweet smile and voice."

Another, on the Australian Media site, said: "What a shock - so young and had a bright future as a newsreader."

Dragun's parents said they hoped that she would be "remembered as an angel".

The 29-year-old "brought joy and light to everyone she met", added Michael and Estelle Dragun, in a statement published by Sydney's Daily Telegraph newspaper.

"We wish to thank all for their thoughts and support during this challenging time."

The presenter's death was announced on Friday, shortly after her body was discovered at the bottom of cliffs at The Gap in the Watsons Bay area of Sydney.

Police said they were not treating her death as suspicious, a statement which suggested she had committed suicide.

Dragun was based at Network Ten's studios in Sydney, from where she presented news bulletins shown in her native Western Australia.

It was widely reported in the Australian media that she had been suffering from depression since moving from Perth to Sydney.

Compilation clips of her work were posted as tributes on the MySpace and YouTube websites.

One fan wrote on YouTube: "I was shocked to hear of her death. She was a nice, beautiful and adorable newsreader. She was so articulate. RIP."

Eighty-three people had joined a Facebook group called "Charmaine Dragun Rest in Peace".

On the Vogue website, one comment said: "How sad that another young life ends too soon. Her mum taught at my high school."

Another fan wrote: "There are no words, just feelings of complete sadness. Much love and strength to all of her family and friends."

"I really loved her reading the local news here in Perth," a post on the TVAus forum read. "She was the best one on that network."

She was described as an "intelligent, talented newsreader, who I could see having a highly successful career" in another tribute on that site. "It is just a terrible tragedy."

And on the Yahoo message board, one person said Dragun was "such a beautiful person, lost to us all". ( BBC )

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