Canary Wharf tragedy as man dies after falling at construction site

A man has died after falling at a construction site in Canary Wharf, east London. The police, ambulance and fire brigade were all called to the site next to the Heron Quays DLR station in Bank Street at around 9am on Tuesday (2 January).

A spokesperson for the London Ambulance Service said the man was declared dead at the scene.

The circumstances of the incident are not known at this stage, but the man was said to have fallen between a cofferdam and a building under construction.

A cofferdam is a watertight enclosure that is pumped dry to allow construction work to take place below the waterline.

The Met Police said the death is being treated as "unexplained", adding: "He is not believed to be a member of the construction team."

Workers were seen being evacuated from the area as firefighters and paramedics dealt with the incident.

A London Ambulance Service spokesperson said: "We were called at 8.52am to Bank Street, Tower Hamlets, to reports of a person fallen.

"We sent our Hazardous Area Response Team, an incident response officer and an ambulance crew to the scene. Sadly, the patient was dead at the scene."

A spokesperson for the London Fire Brigade added: "We were called at 9am to a person who has fallen between a cofferdam and a building under construction."

Emergency workers were seen at a construction site for a new 27-storey office building which is due to be the new home of French bank Société Générale.

It is due to be completed in the summer of 2019.