A 52-year-old Ademola Lawrence has died in Okitipupa in Okitipupa Local Government Area of Ondo State after a dilapidated school building collapsed on him.
The incident occurred yesterday while Mr Lawrence, a carpenter, was trying to help pull down one of the dilapidated structures at the L. A. Primary School, Okitipupa.
The block of classroom was to be pulled down to make way for a new structure, but while work was ongoing, the building suddenly caved in on the carpenter, killing him instantly, witnesses reported.
Mr Lawrence, who is a father of four children, was immediately extricated from the rubble but was found dead at the time.
“He was trying to pull down the dilapidated structure when the ugly incident happened and died before help could reach him,” a witness said.
A former head teacher of the school was said to have halted the contract for the renovation, but the man had to resume work after a new headmaster resumed in the school and renewed the contract.
The witness disclosed that the corpse had been deposited at the morgue of the State Specialist Hospital, Okitipupa.
The State Police Public Relations Officer, Funmilayo Odunlami, confirmed the development, saying it was an accident.
She added that a report had been lodged with the police detailing the cause of the death of the carpenter.
She corroborated the accounts of the eyewitnesses, saying that the man was killed when the roof of the classroom collapsed on him.
“He was a 52-year-old carpenter who was called to help renovate the building, but died when the dilapidated structure collapsed on him,” Mrs Odunlami said.
“We think it is just an accident and since it is a government school we expect that the authorities would do what is necessary.”
Source: PremiumTimes
