A woman was found dead inside a trash compactor at a New York apartment block on Tuesday evening.

The 48-year-old, who police say lived at the premises, was found unconscious inside the machine, and was pronounced dead at the scene.

Police had been called to the block at 1 Irving Place in Union Square, where Anthony Weiner and Huma Abedin own an apartment, just before 5pm.

She was found by a building maintenance worker, and her identity has been withheld until police notify her family.

A spokesman for the NYPD told DailyMail.com the woman's cause of death will be announced by the medical examiner.

A woman was found dead inside a trash compactor at an apartment block in Union Square, Manhattan, on Tuesday evening

The 48-year-old was found by a building maintenance worker just before 5pm at 1 Irving Place, where Anthony Weiner and his estranged wife Huma Abedin own an apartment

The apartment owned by Weiner (left) and Abedin (right) was put up for rent on the same day the former congressman pleaded guilty to sexting a 15-year-old girl

Police do not yet know how she ended up in the trash compactor, but NBC reports her purse was found nearby.

Security footage also shows the woman walking into the apartment building shortly before she was found inside the machine, PIX11 reported.

Weiner and Abedin have owned an apartment at the address for 16 years, which was listed for rent at $11,900 a month on the same day he pleaded guilty to sexting a 15-year-old girl.

Abedin also filed for divorce that same day.

The listing, posted on May 19, 2017, was taken down just days later, though it is unclear as to whether the estranged couple found a renter, or if the property was taken off the market for other reasons.

The woman has not been publicly identified as police work to notify her family. Her purse was found nearby the chute she entered

The woman's cause of death will be determined by a medical examiner

Their modern apartment, located on the 14th and 15th floors, has a view that overlooks Union Square Park and extends out over the midtown skyline.

There are 670 units in the apartment block, divided into four blocks: Gramercy, Village, Park, and University.

There is a communal pool, gym and grassy rooftop for residents to enjoy.

Neighbors at the luxury apartment block told NBC when police arrived on Tuesday evening, they believed it was related to Weiner's conviction.

The former congressman is eligible to begin his three years supervised release in August 2019.