Visitors to Tate Modern have described their horror as they watched a man fall to his death at the gallery.
Police were called at 10:45am on Friday to reports of the man falling and he was pronounced dead at the scene.One witness told Mail Online he was in the bar on the 10th floor when he saw "a young guy" on the terrace.
He said: "I saw his hesitation. As soon as I realized what was about to happen I looked away, and heard somebody else scream.
"I could only hope his soul found peace."
Another witness said they say emergency workers trying to resusicitate the man for "15 to 20 minutes" before the air ambulance arrived.
Scotland Yard said: "Police were called at 10:45hrs to reports of a man fallen from the Tate Modern on Bankside, SE1.
“Officers, London’s Air Ambulance and London Ambulance Service attended. Despite the efforts of medics at the scene the man sadly died at the scene.
“Enquiries are under way to identify the man and notify next of kin.
“A scene and cordons remain in place.
“The death is currently being treated as unexpected but is not thought to be suspicious.”
In a statement, the Tate said: “We are very sad to report that a member of the public passed away at Tate Modern this morning.
“The police are not treating the event as suspicious, but we have closed the gallery for the day as a mark of respect. All our thoughts are with the person’s family and friends at this time.”
The gallery announced it would be closed for the rest of the day but expected to reopen tomorrow.
In a message to visitors on social media, it said: "Tate Modern will be closed for the rest of the day while we respond to an incident on site. If you have an exhibition ticket for today, we will be contacting you directly to reschedule your booking. Thank you."
A London Ambulance Service spokesman said: “We sent resources to the scene, including an ambulance crew, a paramedic on a motorcycle, an incident response officer and a clinical team manager. We also dispatched London’s Air Ambulance.
“Our first medics arrived at the scene in approximately three minutes.
“Very sadly, despite the best efforts of our crews, a person was pronounced dead at the scene.”
In 2019, a six-year-old boy suffered life-changing injuries when he was thrown off the tenth floor of the building by teenager Jonty Bravery.
The boy, who is from France and was on holiday with his parents, survived the 30-metre fall, but suffered major injuries, including bleeding on the brain and broken bones.
Bravery was convicted of attempted murder in 2020 and jailed for 15 years.
The gallery, built inside the abandoned building that was home to Bankside Power Station, is one of London's top visitor attractions.
It holds work by artists including David Hockney and pulled in just under 4 million visitors in 2022.
