Warehouse under renovation crumbles, crushes labourer to death

Tragedy struck at a logistic warehouse under renovation, when a portion of it fell on and killed a 26-year old  assistant bricklayer, simply identified as Deji, in Ikeja area last Thursday.

It was learnt that the bricks holding the door fell on the victim as he was trying to expand the dorm, while he died on the spot.

Lagos Metro gathered that the victim was not a professional bricklayer, as he only went to the place to assist his friend so that he could make a little money from it.

Lagos Metro also gathered that when the incident happened, the friend, who was working with him, called the attention of people to help him out.

A resident reported to Lagos Metro that “the deceased and his friend were breaking the door from the rear. The deceased was on one side of the door, while his friend who he was working with was on another side.

“Because he was not a professional bricklayer, the bricks at the top of the ones they were breaking fell on him.”

Another resident also said the victim unknowingly ran towards the direction of the falling bricks, as he tried to run for his life.

The resident said “the deceased’s co-worker, who saw that the bricks were about to collapse, immediately ran outside but the deceased, who also tried to run for his life, unknowingly ran toward the direction where the bricks fell and he died instantly.

“When we heard the sound of the bricks that fell and the shout from his friend who survived the incident, we initially thought it was electric shock. People immediately put off the electrical appliances within the building. By the time people got there, the man was already dead.”

Lagos State police spokesperson, Dolapo Badmos, confirmed the incident. She added that the corpse had been removed and deposited at  the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH) morgue while investigation was ongoing.