Man died from crush injuries after wall collapsed

The inquest into the death of a Water Authority worker who died when a wall collapsed has been opened and adjourned.

52 year old Lawrence ‘Lude’ Gell from Peel was carrying out excavation work to lay a new supply pipe when the accident happened.

The inquiry heard emergency services were called to the area of Walpole Road and Gib Lane in Peel at around 11am on Monday, December 3rd.

Fire crews began work on moving sections of the stone wall which had fallen.

Mr Gell was found underneath the rubble but there was no sign of life.

A postmortem examination found he’d died from asphyxia due to crush injuries.

A representative of the Health and Safety Inspectorate was present at today’s inquiry to keep a watching brief on proceedings.

An investigation into how the accident happened continues and the inquest was adjourned until a later date.

Coroner John Needham offered his condolences to Mr Gell’s family and friends.