Suicidal diplomat on roof of London embassy changed mind about killing himself - but slipped and fell to his death

A suicidal diplomat on the roof of the Egyptian embassy changed his mind about taking his life - but then slipped and plunged to his death, an inquest heard today.



Ayman Mohammed Fayed, 41, suffered catastrophic injuries when he landed head first at the entrance of the embassy in central London.



The father of three had left a signed note, written in Arabic, simply saying 'Look after the children' and climbed from his 'immaculate' office and on to the roof in an apparent suicide bid.



Ayman Mohammed Fayed, 41, landed head first at the entrance of the embassy on South Street in central London

The administrator at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs had even taken off his shoes and watch and locked his office door before climbing on a chair and out the window.



But it is believed he may have 'changed his mind', as the only witness saw him trying to get back in the third floor window.



Embassy workers found the Egyptian national lying in a pool of blood three metres from the front entrance, all his limbs were deformed, and 'obviously fractured' and he had a gaping head injury.

They carried their co-worker inside, where ambulance crews tried to resuscitate him, but Mr Fayed was pronounced dead at the scene at 4.10pm on January 14 this year.



Kamla Badawi, who works for a commercial arm of the Egyptian embassy in the building opposite, saw Mr Fayed trying to get back in the window.



She said she thought he was a burglar, but as she called the embassy to warn them she heard a 'loud bang' and when she went back to her office window, saw him lying in a pool of blood on the pavement.



In a statement read to Westminster Coroner's Court, she said: 'The man was on the top floor of the embassy. He was on the grey sloping roof.



'He had one arm through the window reaching in the embassy. He appeared to be holding on to something that was by the window.



'He appeared to be trying to get in to the building, that's why I though he was breaking in.'



The women went to phone the embassy, when the man fell.



She added: 'I left a message, I was on my way back to the window to see what he the man was doing and I heard a loud bang.



'There was no longer anyone on the roof. My feeling was that he had lost control and fell.



'I saw a man on the floor. It was so upsetting seeing a man on the ground. He seemed to be facing down.'



Mr Fayed lived with his wife, Merfet Mohamed Hussein Elsaey, and their three children in Maida Vale, west London.



Detective Inspector Andrew Fleming said he thought Mr Fayed had changed his mind.



He said: 'We established it was a diplomat who had actually fallen from the window.



'He landed approximately three metres from the entrance directly below the window. There had clearly been quite a heavy impact to the front of his forehead.



'Embassy staff had taken him in to the reception area and called the ambulance.



'The room [his office] was immaculately tidy. The note was there, his watch was left on the table. A chair was up against the window and the window was wide open. I also found his shoes.



'It was a non-suspicious death. I suspected from what was laid out inside the room that this was a straight forward suicide.



'But sat on a cold roof, outside in the wet, staring down at the concrete below, I suspect he's changed his mind, that would fit with what the witness said - he was reaching down trying to get back in through the window.



'An intent to commit suicide may have turned in to a tragic accident.'



The incident occurred just before violence broke out in Egypt, leading to the resignation of president Hosni Mubarak.



But there was no evidence connecting Mr Fayed to the uprising, and colleagues told police they didn't know of any reason he would want to kill himself.



Recording an open verdict, coroner Dr Fiona Wilcox said she was 'completely satisfied' that there were no suspicious circumstances involved in Mr Fayed's tragic death.



But she said as there were no witness to the actual event, she couldn't be sure whether he fell or jumped.

