He was found trapped under rubble and was pronounced dead at the scene on Pevensey Road. A second man was taken to hospital yesterday evening with minor injuries

By Marco Marcelline

Covered in scaffolding, the house’s roof collapsed yesterday afternoon killing a man, and injuring another. Credit: WFE

A man was killed when the roof of a Leytonstone house undergoing refurbishment collapsed yesterday afternoon.

The man, whose identity has not yet been revealed, was found trapped under rubble by firefighters attending the Pevensey Road end-of-terraced house shortly after 5pm. He was pulled out and received emergency treatment from London Fire Brigade (LFB). He was later pronounced dead at the scene by ambulance crews.

The incident also left a second man in hospital with “minor injuries”, police said. Emergency services have not reported any other injuries stemming from the incident.

According to the LFB, the incident was over by 7pm. Three fire engines from Stratford, East Ham, and Homerton and two fire and rescue units from East Ham and Edmonton fire stations attended the scene, a spokesperson for the force told the Echo. Due to a police cordon, Pevensey Road is inaccessible to traffic from Winchelsea Road.

On a visit to the scene this afternoon (13th December), the Echo noted the entire roof of the scaffolded house was missing. Stacks of wooden planks and a skip sat outside the house. The rest of the house all appeared intact.

A small blue police tent has been erected outside the house. Only two officers were present on the scene; one told the Echo that the police were working with Waltham Forest Council to investigate the cause of the roof collapse. The council was contacted for comment.

A London Ambulance Service spokesperson said: “We were called yesterday (12th December) at 5.04pm to an incident on Pevensey Road, E7. We sent a number of resources to the scene, including an ambulance crew, an incident response officer, an advanced paramedic and members of our Hazardous Area Response team. Sadly, one person was pronounced dead at the scene. We treated one patient at the scene, before taking them to a major trauma centre as a priority.”

According to an employee at a neighbouring business who spoke to the Echo, the home had been undergoing renovation works at the time of the roof collapse, and the injured parties were construction workers.

When asked, the LFB said it could not disclose the professions of the man who was killed, nor that of the injured man.

The Health Safety Executive (HSE), which is tasked with investigating workplace accidents, was contacted for comment but did not respond in time for publication. The police confirmed to the Echo that the HSE has been notified of the incident.

A spokesperson for the Metropolitan Police said they were called by the LFB shortly after 5pm to a “partial building collapse” and added that the second man was taken to hospital with “minor injuries”.

If you have any further information on this incident please contact [email protected]

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