A New Zealand journalist has reportedly fallen to her death in the Turkish city of Istanbul.

Yasmine Ryan, 34, fell from the fifth storey of a central Istanbul building earlier this week, according to the Haberturk website.

Police were investigating the death, it reported.

Ryan had worked for Al Jazeera, the International Herald Tribune and New York Times and in New Zealand the Scoop news agency, according to her biography.

In an opinion piece, Turkish English-language website TRT World's Ashfaaq Carim mourned the loss of his colleague.

Ryan was the first English-language journalist to start in-depth reporting on the events in Tunisia that preceded the Arab Spring, Carim said.

"Her work was tough on power and was decidedly empathetic to all sides. What made Yasmine stand out, in a newsroom full of talented journalists, was her resolute commitment to listen."

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, in a statement, said it was aware of the death of a New Zealander in Istanbul and was providing consular assistance to the family.