A 37-year-old man had on Wednesday, March 4, 2015 drowned in a well in Kalejaiye street in the Oke Ana community of Ikorodu, Lagos State after.
The victim, Shuaib was employed to dig the well for a two-storey building which was still under construction on the fateful day of the incident.
According to Punch, Shuaib ad some of his co-workers were digging the well when he suddenly became tired and got trapped in the well.
A source who witnessed the incident said on an anonymous note that after he fell into the well, said that the residents made efforts to pull him out but it all proved abortive.
The officials of the Lagos State Fire Service were later called to the scene and they eventually dived into the well only to discover the lifeless body of the victim.
He said, “It was in the morning. The three of them were digging the well, which was for the owner of a two storey-building in the community.
“At a point, he became tired and got trapped in the well. People tried to remove him, but they could not.”
Confirming the incident, the Public Relations Officer of the Lagos State Fire Service, Amodu Sakiru, said the Ikorodu Fire Station responded to a distress call, adding that they recovered the deceased’s corpse which was handed over to the police of the Ikorodu division.
After a preliminary investigation was carried out, the Director of the Lagos State Fire Service, Rasak Fadipe said, “He must have inhaled ammonia gas, which usually makes the victim get dizzy and weak. And that was how he got trapped.
“We have held meetings with their association to always inform us whenever they want to dig a well. We do not mind providing them with breathing apparatus. This is because in every well, there is ammonia gas.
“Secondly, they are supposed to have a rope that they will tie to themselves which their colleagues can easily use to pull them up in the event of an emergency. Also, wells have different textures which determine the level of danger those digging the well are exposed to.”
