A 33-year-old bricklayer, identified simply as Taiwo, lost his life after a fence he was erecting around a church in the Alapere area of Lagos State, collapsed on him.

It was learnt that the incident occurred around 7pm on Saturday, while the bricklayer was working on the structure.

Our correspondent gathered on Thursday that the victim was almost done with erecting the structure when it collapsed.

A source in the community told PUNCH Metro on Thursday that the owner of the property and some Good Samaritans recovered the victim from the rubble and took him to the hospital, where he succumbed to injuries.

“The church employed him, and he was almost done for that day before the fence collapsed on him. Immediately, it occurred, he was quickly rescued and rushed to the hospital. Those who engaged him on the job also quickly reached out to his relatives, who came to the hospital. It was not too long after that he was confirmed dead.”

Another resident who craved anonymity due to the sensitive nature of the incident told our correspondent that the relative went to the nearest police station to report the incident.

When contacted, the state Police Public Relations Officer, Benjamin Hundeyin, confirmed the incident.

He said the relative of the victim reported the matter to the Alapere Police Division around 8:37 pm.

According to him, the complainant, who was the deceased’s elder brother, said he was informed that Taiwo had become unconscious after the fence came crashing down on him while working.

“The victim was rescued and rushed to a nearby hospital where he later died. Based on the report, a team of detectives visited the scene and the hospital, where the corpse was inspected. Photographs of the scene and deceased were also taken, while the corpse was evacuated to a public morgue for autopsy.”

He further disclosed that an investigation was ongoing into the incident. (The PUNCH, but headline rejigged)