Father-of-two killed in Melbourne wall collapse
A construction worker tried to free his workmate who was crushed to death when a wall collapsed during strong winds in Melbourne.
The men were working at a block of units under construction in Brighton East when a partially-built brick wall at the rear of a garage collapsed during strong winds on Monday morning.
The 30-year-old man died at the scene shortly after paramedics arrived, police said.
Detective Sergeant Gerry Richardson said the rear garage wall that collapsed was partially constructed.
"We've got to look at how the wall was braced in regards to that, whether that was part of the factor of why the wall collapsed," Det Sgt Richardson told reporters.
Det Sgt Richardson said Melbourne's windy weather conditions looked to have played a part in the collapse.
"It appears as though a strong wind gust has come through at this time and blown the brick wall down," he said.
"There's two brick walls at the rear of the property under construction, and one of those brick walls has collapsed under the atmosphere of the strong winds here today."
Det Sgt Richardson said the co-worker called emergency services and worked to free the trapped man before they got there.
But the man died as the paramedics arrived, he said.
Supervisor and family friend Stan Bilic said he watched on helplessly as he saw his mate crushed.
"I just can’t imagine this happening to anyone. I’m a family friend. I saw him when he was born and now I’ve seen him when he’s died as well," he told News Limited.
Neighbour Leala Sawicki said she was lying in bed when she heard the wall collapse, but thought it was just normal sounds from the building site.
"I heard a really loud bang. I didn't think anything because I'd been hearing noises all the time," Mrs Sawicki told AAP.
"By the time I got up, they (emergency services) were already here."
Mrs Sawicki said she saw her neighbour trying to talk with the man but he didn't seem to be responding.
"I could see my neighbour talking to the guy, he looked terrible."
Paramedics and firefighters are still at the house construction site, and WorkSafe will be investigating.
It's understood heavy winds caused the wall to topple.
A severe weather warning is currently in place, with wind gusts of up 90 kilometres per hour recorded on Monday.
