SHANGHAI, May 22 -- A foreign maid fell four floors down the side her building in Beijing's Chaoyang District yesterday as she was attempting to escape from her employer. A "rope" made from sheets and clothes broke as she tried to reach the ground, the Beijing News reported today.

She suffered several fractures in the fall but is out of danger after receiving medical treatment in hospital, the report said.

The 30-year-old maid tried to climb from her employer's home on the fifth floor via the "sheet rope" at 4:15am, but the rope broke when she had only reached the fourth floor and she fell to the ground.

Security guards and some neighbors said her boss treated her badly and always locked her in the home on the fifth floor, No.518, Section F, Atlantic Place.

"She tried to escape on Sunday afternoon, but her boss grabbed her by her hair to pull her back," a neighbor told the newspaper. Police tried to mediate in the dispute but failed, the neighbor added.

The woman's nationality is unclear and she has been serving at the home for a short period, the report said.

Local police have begun to investigate the case but the employer hasn't shown up yet.