The death of 21-year-old Bank of America Merrill Lynch intern Moritz Erhardt has raised concerns about the dangers of working long hours without getting a proper amount of sleep according to The Independent.
The company was "shocked and saddened" by Erhardt's death.
"The thing to reiterate right now, nobody knows what happened and until that is established, I think any conclusion is premature," spokesman John McIvor told The Independent. "He was popular amongst his peers and was a highly diligent intern at our company with a promising future. Our first thoughts are with his family, and we send our condolences to them at this difficult time."
Erhardt was not responsive when located in his dorm in London last week. He was finishing a competitive seven-week internship where interns worked extra hours The Independent reported. An ambulance was called to the scene, and Erhardt was pronounced dead.
"We all work long hours, but the guys working regularly until 3 a.m. or 4 a.m. are those in investment banking," another intern told The Independent "People working in markets will have to be in at 6 a.m. but not stay as late, so what time you can leave the office depends on your division."
The incident is not being "treated as suspicious" by police said according to The Independent. Results from the medical examiner's officer were expected later in the week.
Merrill Lynch did not comment about reports such as those on wallstreetoasis.com that showed Erhardt worked multiple nights before his death The Independent reported.
Working demanding jobs with unusually long and strenuous hours have the potential to create health problems, and worry a lot of people ABC News reported.
