A 35-year-old tricycle rider, Olalekan Salisu, has met his untimely death after he fell inside a soakaway pit while he was trying to power his small generator in his house on Anipele Street, Olorunshogo in the Mushin area of Lagos state.
Salisu who hails from Ogun state was said to have been starting the generator on top of the septic pit when the slab suddenly collapsed leading to both the deceased and the generator to land inside the pit.
The incident which happened on Sunday, February 8, 2015 threw the entire community into mourning.
It was learnt that the officials of the Lagos State Fire Service were able to recover the lifeless body of the father of two after a 5 hour-long battle.
A resident, John Ademola, who said he was among those that attempted to save the deceased father of two on the fateful day explained that the tenants usually put generators on the soakaway which must have weakened the slab and caused the tragedy, Punch reports.
He said, “On that night, the man, who lived on the second floor, came outside to turn on his generator after a power outage.
“The generator, which was on the soakaway, started working and as the man was about leaving, the soakaway caved in and he and the generator fell inside.
“As he was going down, he shouted for help and that was what made people know that something bad had happened.”
Confirming the incident, the Director of the Lagos State Fire Service, Rasak Fadipe, said, “The fireman went in with a sealing hook and a ladder. With the aid of the hook, he found the location where the victim was buried in the faeces. He then went into the basement of the septic tank using the ladder.
“He used a side of the victim’s shoulder to bring him up and tied a rescue rope over his body before drawing him up.It was a difficult situation.”
He used the medium to sound a note of warning to people to desist from keeping generators or other heavy property on the soakaway as it could weaken the slab and lead to more fatalities.
