Body in UK thought to be PhD student

A body found in an apartment in London is believed to be that of a 35-year-old female Chinese student who was last heard from nearly two weeks ago, according to Metropolitan Police.

At around 3 am on Wednesday, police trying to locate Yan Sihong, a doctoral student at King's College London, gained entry to an apartment in Westminster where they found a woman's body. While formal identification has not been made, officers said they believe that the deceased woman is Yan.

Her next of kin in Shenyang, Liaoning province, have been informed. While the investigation continues, the death is being treated as nonsuspicious, police said.

Police said that Yan's chronic back condition sometimes causes trouble with mobility.

The Chinese embassy in the UK said the Metropolitan Police had notified the embassy that they had discovered a woman believed to be Yan dead at her residence. The embassy notified Yan's family and will provide assistance as needed. At the family's request, the embassy urged respect for the family's privacy.

Yan was last seen on Feb 14 and last spoke to her parents and friends on Feb 16.

Yan's parents last spoke to her on a WeChat call. She normally calls her parents every Saturday, they said. When her parents failed to hear from her last Saturday, they became worried. They tried to reach Yan on WeChat and her mobile phone but failed.

Yan was last seen at noon on Feb 14 at King's College London by a friend.

Yan arrived in the UK in September 2016 to pursue her doctoral degree at KCL's Lau China Institute. Her student records at KCL show her thesis title as Managerial Ethnic Ties and Firm's Subsidiary Performance.

On LinkedIn, she described herself as an "adaptive and creative person with the ability to work in overcoming challenges in multicultural environments." She also speaks fluent English, French, and Chinese and competent Russian and German, the posting says.

Before joining KCL, Yan worked in Shanghai as deputy general manager at Carich Marine Engineering, a small Hong Kong-based shipping agent.

She also studied at China's Cheung Kong Graduate School of Business, Dalian University of Foreign Languages, Italy's Polytechnic University of Milan and France's Emlyon Business School.