Witnesses tell of horror at seeing suspected suicide at rooftop Coq d’Argent restaurant

The incident is said to have happened just yards from Sir Terence Conran's Coq D'argent restaurant (Evening Standard)

Witnesses have spoken of moment they saw the death of a man at the rooftop Coq d’Argent restaurant.

The incident, which is thought to be the fourth suicide to take place at the spot in the last five years - and the second in a matter of weeks, happened at around 12.41pm yesterday.

The man, a married 46-year-old, plunged into a food court below the restaurant at No 1 The Poultry, next to Bank Tube station.

The restaurant, which is owned by Sir Terence Conran, and featured in the James Bond-themed sequence at the Opening Ceremony for the London Olympics, said yesterday that they were investigating the death.

Christina Neumann, who was in the queue for food when she heard the man falling told the Evening Standard: “It’s the most awful thing I have ever witnessed in my life”.

She said: “The noise of the man falling was horrendous. At first I thought someone had been shot but then I realised he had fallen off the balcony.

“We all froze. The whole room went quiet for a while with shock. Seeing him lie there with his shoes off and legs broken made my heart jump and I got the shakes. I ended up running out of the building as quickly as I could.”

Des Gunewardena, chairman of D&D London, which runs the restaurant, said the death was “another tragic incident”.

He said: “We are investigating it and examining the CCTV but it looks to us at the moment that the person didn’t enter the restaurant.”

An eyewitness, who did not want to be named, said: “I was sitting in the courtyard area on the basement floor having a coffee with my back to where the man landed.

“There was a huge thump and band and because it’s an enclosed area, it reverberated all around. Everyone started running into Starbucks.

“He was wearing a dark top coat, grey trousers and black shoes, one of his shoes fell off. Someone felt his neck for a pulse.”

Just a month ago father-of-one Kevan Ward, 46, fell 350 ft to his death outside the Willis Building in the City.

His death followed that of businesswoman Rema Beauty Begum after she fell from the rooftop restaurant.