A newly-wed plumber, Emeka Okpala, has reportedly drowned while installing a pumping machine in a well in Ketu, Lagos State.
Apparently, the 40-year-old only came as a substitute to the original contractor who didnt show up for his appointment. In his attempt to descend into the well for the installation, he plunged to his death.
No one knew of the unfortunate event until it was too late to call for help. According to a resident, the contractor hadn’t raised an alarm early enough.
She said: “Emeka (Okpala) was a very popular man on this street. He used to drive a BMW car, which he brought yesterday (Wednesday) to do the work. He was into all kinds of jobs and was very hardworking. He recently got wedded.”
“The owner of the well wanted to install a submersible pumping machine. Those who were asked to do the job turned it down and said the well was old. When he was called, Emeka said he could do it since it was not his first time.”
“He tied a rope to a generator and was descending the well when the generator fell on him in the well. He was crushed.”
Confirming the incident, the Director of the Lagos State Fire Service, Rasak Fadipe, said that the corpse had been deposited in a morgue by the policemen.
He said, “Okpala wanted to install a pumping machine in the well when he got trapped. We received a distress call and the Alausa fire station responded. One of our fire officers, Salau, who led the rescue operation, recovered him dead. The corpse was handed over to the police from the Alapere division.”
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