City worker plummets from balcony of Stock Exchange
A FINANCIER has died after falling from the seventh floor at the London Stock Exchange, landing in the lobby.
The married man, understood to have been in his 40s, is believed to have climbed over a glass barrier at around 9.45am yesterday before plunging to his death.
Horrified workers said the sound as he hit the lobby floor “rang out like a shotgun”.
City of London Police were called at 9.58am and the man was pronounced dead at 10.10am. His black shoulder bag was later carried outside by officers and his body was removed via an underground car park in a private ambulance a few hours later.
It is believed the man worked on the first floor but made his way up to the seventh to jump from the balcony.
His colleagues were said to be devastated and several were sent home. Police have been trying to contact the man’s wife, who is also thought to be London-based.
The main entrance to the Stock Exchange in the City’s Paternoster Square, in the shadow of St Paul’s Cathedral, remained closed for the rest of the day as staff used a fire escape to enter and exit the building.
One employee said: “There was a screen up in the reception lobby area and ambulances and police.
“There was an internal memo saying there had been an incident and then we found out that a man has jumped from the seventh floor. The building has walkways on each floor and near the lifts, there is a gap and you can see all the way up and down. Apparently he jumped from there.”
A student waiting to gain entry to the building said: “My friends inside told me they heard a lot of shouting and then they heard a thud. It’s awful.”
City of London Police is currently investigating the circumstances surrounding the death but are not treating it as suspicious.