This is a developing story. We will update this article as emergency services confirm more details, including an update on the man’s condition and any statement from the Metropolitan Police.
A man has been rushed to a major trauma centre after falling from height in Hackney on Friday afternoon, prompting a major emergency response that closed two roads.
The alarm was raised at 12.06pm on Friday, October 2, after reports of a person falling from height on Southgate Road, near the junction with Balmes Road in Hackney, N1.
London Ambulance Service sent an ambulance crew, paramedics in fast response cars and an incident response officer to the scene, and called in London’s Air Ambulance as back-up. The first paramedic reached the patient in less than six minutes.
A spokesperson for the ambulance service said crews had been called at 12.06pm to reports of the fall. “We treated a patient at the scene and took him to a major trauma centre as a priority by road,” the spokesperson added.
Major trauma centres are specialist hospitals set up to treat the most seriously injured patients, and are used when injuries are thought to be life-threatening or complex.
No update on the man’s condition has been given. It is not known what caused the fall, and police have not said whether the circumstances are being treated as suspicious.
London’s Air Ambulance works alongside the capital’s road crews at the most serious incidents, with its doctors and paramedics treating patients at the scene before they are taken on to hospital.
Southgate Road was shut in both directions between Downham Road and Benyon Road, close to Rosemary Gardens on the Hackney–Islington border, while emergency crews worked at the scene. Traffic queued through the surrounding streets, a diversion was put in place, and bus routes 76 and 141 were caught up in the disruption. Our live coverage of the Southgate Road closure followed the incident as it unfolded. The road has since reopened.
The Metropolitan Police are leading the response at the scene. Officers established a cordon along a large section of Balmes Road by the junction with Southgate Road, closing the street to traffic. Debris could be seen scattered across the carriageway inside the cordoned-off area, and police remained at the scene into the afternoon.
It comes a day after a woman in her 20s died following a fall from a tower block in Elephant and Castle, where police ruled out suspicious circumstances. There is no suggestion the two incidents are linked.
What witnesses should do
Anyone who was on Southgate Road or Balmes Road around midday on Friday and saw what happened is urged to contact the Metropolitan Police on 101. Drivers with dashcam footage from the area at the time could also help officers establish how the man came to fall.
In an emergency, always call 999. Police have issued a string of witness appeals across Hackney in recent weeks, including a CCTV appeal after a man was punched in the face at Hackney Downs station.
Members of the public are also asked not to share graphic images or footage of the incident on social media, out of respect for the man and his family.
Travel advice
Southgate Road has now reopened, but the cordon on Balmes Road was still in place this afternoon. Drivers and bus passengers are advised to check their routes before travelling, as some disruption may continue while police finish their work at the scene.
Support
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We will continue to update this story as more information is confirmed.
