Tate Modern ‘suicide’: Man plunges to his death from 100ft-high private members’ balcony

July 25th, 2012

FAKE NEWS for the Zionist agenda

Witnesses claimed the man, who was in his late forties, jumped from the railings five floors up
Onlooker said he heard a thud and people rushed over
Claimed he saw one man being sick
Bystanders said on Twitter that they were ‘traumatised’
Fall came in late afternoon as tourists sat by Thames
Others thought it was a stunt and took photos
Gallery is staging exhibitions by Munch and Hirst

By
Emma Reynolds and Hannah Roberts

PUBLISHED:

01:46 EST, 25 July 2012

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UPDATED:

10:26 EST, 25 July 2012

A man in his late forties plunged to his death in front of horrified families at a packed Tate Modern yesterday after falling more than 100ft from a private members’ balcony.

The visitor to the London art gallery fell from the terrace of a bar and restaurant area, as tourists picnicking by the Thames in the late afternoon sun watched in shock.

Witnesses claimed the man, who was dressed in a suit and in his late forties, had jumped from the railings five floors above.

Shocking: The man plummeted to the ground from the London art gallery's private members' terrace five floors up

Shocking: The man plummeted to the ground from the London art gallery’s private members’ terrace five floors up

The exclusive ‘Members’ Room’ terrace is available only to members of the museum, who pay £60 a year to have access to private viewings of new exhibitions.

It is a busy period for the gallery, with shows by hugely popular artists Damien Hirst and Edvard Munch taking place.

Elodie Soetaert, 25, an account manager for We Are Social, said: ‘We arrived just after and saw police and police tape everywhere. The body was covered in tarpaulin and the police had put screens up so we couldn’t see it.

‘It was really shocking. Some people had been playing music and when they stopped it was silent.

Bystanders: Day-trippers packing the area around the Thames were aghast at the incident

‘I’d gone for drinks with my friends and I’m happy I arrived after he had fallen because I wouldn’t have wanted to see that.’

Another witness said the man was wearing a suit without a tie and had the top buttons of his shirt undone.

He said: ‘We heard a thud and people ran over and were standing around him. One man was sick. It was ages before an ambulance arrived.’

One Tate employee, who did not want to be named, said: ‘I was just finishing my shift when I heard what had happened.

‘As I was walking out of the building I saw him on the ground.

‘It was horrible. I didn’t stop to look at any more. Everybody is so shocked. Nobody is even speaking about it today.’

High season: Major exhibitions of work by Damien Hirst and Edvard Munch were taking place at the London gallery

An office worker, who was on his way home, said: ‘I saw two ambulances and a couple of police cars outside.

‘It was only when I read the news today that I realised what had happened. It’s so awful. I wondered if he had worked in the area and asked my colleagues but no one seemed to know anything about it.’

Shocked onlookers took to the internet to describe the tragic incident.

@CathHannahx wrote on Twitter: ‘Seeing the guy who had committed suicide and jumped off the Tate modern has been the most traumatic thing I have seen.’

Some onlookers at first thought it was ‘a staged flash mob thing’ and took photographs, tweeted @salmasaid.

Drama: The man, who had two buttons undone and tie on, plunged from a members bar and restaurant five floors up

Another user, @afbsutherland, said: ‘Weird day at Tate modern. Sehgal was amazing, the possible suicide outside was pretty awful. Hope it wasn’t as bad as it looked.’

A spokesman for the museum confirmed that a man fell to the ground from a balcony of the museum and said that police were investigating.

She added: ‘An ambulance was called immediately but he was pronounced dead.

‘Our deepest sympathies go to his family.’

The Metropolitan Police could not confirm or deny whether the death was a suicide.

Sudden death: Police stand guard outside last night after the afternoon tragedy