Food blogger falls to death at Coq d'Argent

09 February 2015
Food blogger falls to death at Coq d'Argent

A food blogger has fallen to his death from the rooftop of City restaurant Coq d'Argent.

Wilkes McDermid, 39, is understood to have fallen eight storeys from the roof terrace shortly after the restaurant closed late yesterday afternoon (Sunday).

McDermid was a popular London restaurant blogger who had previously prompted concern when he went missing on a trip to Cape Town two years ago.

On Sunday at 6pm, his Twitter account posted ‘Final message… thank you everyone' with a link to a blog post saying that he was ‘tired of life', which led to distressed friends and followers raising the alarm in fear for his safety.

A spokesperson for D&D London said they were unable to comment during a police investigation but expressed condolences to McDermid's family and friends.

However, Erkan Oden, restaurant manager of the Coq d'Argent, told the Evening Standard: "How could this happen because we close at 3pm on a Sunday? This is the first I have heard of it. We had the barriers installed some time ago I believe. We have to investigate and find out what happened because we have heard nothing."

The restaurant's website says Coq d'Argent closes for lunch on Sunday at 3pm, while the bar and terrace remains open until 5pm.

A City of London Police statement this morning confirmed McDermid's death was not being treated as suspicious.

"On Sunday 8 February, at 17.53, City of London Police received reports of a 39-year-old man being seen to fall from a restaurant at Number 1 Poultry. He was pronounced dead at the scene and the City of London Police have launched an investigation but are not treating his death as suspicious. Next of kin have been informed," the statement said.

The incident was the fourth of its kind at the D&D London venue since 2007.

In 2012, Rema Begum took a sip of wine before placing her handbag on the floor and falling from the busy restaurant, after losing her job at the British Library.

Stockbroker Anjool Malde jumped to his death holding a glass of Champagne after he was suspended from his job at Deutsche Bank in 2009, and in May 2007 city worker Richard Ford died after throwing himself off the building and landing on top of a bus.

Also in 2012, banker Nico Lambrechts fell to his death just yards from the restaurant entrance into the internal atrium of the building. The incident occurred shortly after he had started a new job.

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