"My first emotion was panic": Witnesses' shock after man's body found under Leeds viaduct

Shocked witnesses have described the scene following the discovery of a man's body under disused railway arches off Whitehall Road in Leeds city centre.
Shocked witnesses have described what they saw from a nearby office blockShocked witnesses have described what they saw from a nearby office block
Shocked witnesses have described what they saw from a nearby office block

Police were called to the scene at 11.56am today (Tuesday, December 11) to reports of a man’s body under one of the arches.Workers at the nearby Number One Leeds office block saw the dramatic scene unfold.

Helen Johnson was on the fifth floor of the building when she noticed paramedics next to the viaduct.

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She described the scene before she realised what was happening, and what she noticed on the floor afterwards.

Shocked witnesses have described what they saw from a nearby office blockShocked witnesses have described what they saw from a nearby office block
Shocked witnesses have described what they saw from a nearby office block

She said: “I saw a lone ambulance car, a paramedic and then the body.

“My first emotion was panic, I was confused.

“The paramedics looked like they were having a conversation, so my first thought was that he’d passed away.

“It looked like there was blood on the floor too.

The scene following the discovery of a mans body under disused railway arches off Whitehall Road in Leeds city centre. PIC: Simon HulmeThe scene following the discovery of a mans body under disused railway arches off Whitehall Road in Leeds city centre. PIC: Simon Hulme
The scene following the discovery of a mans body under disused railway arches off Whitehall Road in Leeds city centre. PIC: Simon Hulme

MORE: First photos as forensics police called to dead body at Leeds Whitehall Road viaduct“It’s horrible, it’s really sad to see so close to Christmas. It’s horrible for the man’s family too.”

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Muhammad Qurratulain’s colleagues were congregating around a top floor window in the same office block when he walked over to see what the commotion was all about.

He told the Yorkshire Evening Post: “We had a bit of a scene in the office, people had noticed and congregated, so I went over.

“It’s not the sort of thing you want to see.”

Jonathan Scott was on the fourth floor when he saw the scene unfolding.

He said: “It’s shocking any time of the year but at this time of the year it makes it ten times worse, it’s never nice to see.

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MORE: Security guard who found man's body under Leeds viaduct by Whitehall Road: "We could see lots of blood"“My thoughts go out to his family, that’s the main thing at the moment.”

West Yorkshire Police said in a statement: “At 11:56am today (11/12), police were contacted by a member of the public who had found the body of a man near to the disused railway viaduct behind the Yorkshire Post building in Whitehall Road, Leeds.

“Officers and ambulance staff attended and the man was confirmed dead at the scene.

“A scene is currently in place and enquiries are ongoing into the circumstances surrounding the death.”