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A man plunged to his death from a Canary Wharf tower in front of thousands of horrified commuters today.

IT executive Gabriel Magee, 39, fell from the top of the 500ft European headquarters of US investment bank J P Morgan just after 8am, at the peak of the financial district’s rush hour.

He landed on the roof of a ninth-floor podium of the building at 25 Bank Street, close to Heron Quays DLR station. He was pronounced dead at the scene by paramedics and his body was covered with a tarpaulin. Police said the death was not being treated as suspicious.

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A JP Morgan spokeswoman said: "“We are deeply saddened to have lost a member of the J.P. Morgan family at 25 Bank Street today. Our thoughts and sympathy are with his family and his friends.”

One worker at the bank said: "There’s a lot of upset but no one knows exactly what happened.”

London Ambulance Service said: “We were called at 8.04am to reports of a person fallen from a height. We sent one ambulance crew, a duty officer, our hazardous area response team and London Air Ambulance. Sadly, a man in his thirties was pronounced dead at the scene.”

Local workers spoke of their shock. Emily Brimson, who works in Bank Street overlooking the scene, said: “The police came and moved the body a little, took measurements etc, but then they all left. Now the body is lying there covered by a sheet. One policeman manning the door.”

Another, David, who works on the 29th floor of a law firm opposite the scene and declined to give his surname, said: "It’s upsetting what’s happened but the thought of somebody lying up there for four hours is awful.

Tragedy at Canary Wharf 5 show all Tragedy at Canary Wharf 1/5 Canary Wharf tragedy People look out of the window of the J P Morgan building at Canary Wharf after a man fell to his death from the roof LONDON, ENGLAND - JANUARY 28: People look out of the window of the J P Morgan building at Canary Wharf on January 28, 2014 in London, England. Police are investigating after the body of a man was found on the 9th floor of the bank's European headquarter 2/5 Canary Wharf tragedy A police vehicle at the scene in Canary Wharf today 3/5 Canary Wharf tragedy An office worker shields his eyes as he looks out of the window of the JP Morgan building LONDON, ENGLAND - JANUARY 28: A person looks out of the window of the J P Morgan building at Canary Wharf on January 28, 2014 in London, England. Police are investigating after the body of a man was found on the 9th floor of the bank's European headquar 4/5 Canary Wharf tragedy Police said there were no suspicious circumstances surrounding the man's death LONDON, ENGLAND - JANUARY 28: A person looks out of the window of the J P Morgan building at Canary Wharf on January 28, 2014 in London, England. Police are investigating after the body of a man was found on the 9th floor of the bank's European headquar 5/5 Canary Wharf tragedy A police car at the JP Morgan building today 1/5 Canary Wharf tragedy People look out of the window of the J P Morgan building at Canary Wharf after a man fell to his death from the roof LONDON, ENGLAND - JANUARY 28: People look out of the window of the J P Morgan building at Canary Wharf on January 28, 2014 in London, England. Police are investigating after the body of a man was found on the 9th floor of the bank's European headquarter 2/5 Canary Wharf tragedy A police vehicle at the scene in Canary Wharf today 3/5 Canary Wharf tragedy An office worker shields his eyes as he looks out of the window of the JP Morgan building LONDON, ENGLAND - JANUARY 28: A person looks out of the window of the J P Morgan building at Canary Wharf on January 28, 2014 in London, England. Police are investigating after the body of a man was found on the 9th floor of the bank's European headquar 4/5 Canary Wharf tragedy Police said there were no suspicious circumstances surrounding the man's death LONDON, ENGLAND - JANUARY 28: A person looks out of the window of the J P Morgan building at Canary Wharf on January 28, 2014 in London, England. Police are investigating after the body of a man was found on the 9th floor of the bank's European headquar 5/5 Canary Wharf tragedy A police car at the JP Morgan building today

"I got into the office at about 8.10 and the body was on the floor and there were police up there, and they put a white cover on him.

“I think he was in a suit. As far as I could see the was dressed appropriately, but there was quite a lot of blood, so me and my colleagues were a bit upset."

Andrew Lawrence wrote on Twitter: “Sad scene. Someone jumped/fell at JPMorgan Canary Wharf. A sorry view from my desk. Police everywhere, but nobody approaching the body, odd.” A police spokesman said: “We believe we know the identity of the deceased but we await formal identification.”

The 33-storey building has been the headquarters of the bank’s Europe, Middle East and Africa operations since July 2012.

It was previously occupied by Lehman Brothers, and seen in photos of bankers clutching boxes of possessions as they left after Lehman collapsed in September 2008, triggering the worldwide financial collapse.

The tower was sold to parent company JPMorgan Chase for £495 million in 2010.

Originally scheduled to be occupied by energy trading company Enron before its insolvency in 2001, the stainless steel and glass-clad building, was opened in 2004 by Gordon Brown.

About 100,000 people work in Canary Wharf. It houses the headquarters of some of the world’s biggest banks, including HSBC, as well as major law firms such as Clifford Chance.