The rubble after the incident at a flat in Newington Green

By FELIX BRIGHT

A BUILDER had to be dug out from under a pile of concrete by mechanics working next door after the roof of the building he was working on collapsed.

The drama unfolded at a flat in Newington Green, Canonbury, on Saturday afternoon as a chimney and roof came crashing down.

Onlookers said three men had been working on the property at the time. Two of the builders escaped unscathed, but an eyewitness said a third was trapped beneath a wall of concrete and suffering from a suspected broken leg.

The broken roof after the collapse

Mechanics from Islington Auto Service, based below the property, said they rushed to help after hearing the loud crash. Their boss Aji Mohammed called the emergency services before joining his colleagues at the scene.

“It sounded like ten floors crashing down at once,” he told the Tribune. “After that we just heard screaming, we knew they were in trouble straight away.

“I called the emergency services and asked for the police, an ambulance and a fire engine; they told me they would only be ten minutes.

“When we got to him, he was buried under a fallen wall and part of the chimney. We had to break it in half so we could dig him out.

“Then we moved all the concrete that was on top of him. It took us ten to 15 minutes just to do that, but still no one else had come.”

Mr Mohammed said it took half an hour for the fire engines to arrive.

“He could have been dead if he was under the concrete for another 20 minutes,” he said. “He was badly injured and couldn’t breathe. The roof had crushed his leg.”

Aji Mohammed alert the emergency services

Mr Mohammed added: “The builders also did some work for us at the back of the shop, so I knew them already. I think they were turning the unit from three individual flats to five. All the tenants had moved out only two weeks ago. The building work started shortly after that.”

Another mechanic involved in the rescue, who wished to remain anonymous, said: “When I got there the chimney was on top of him, there was so much adrenaline in me, I didn’t even think about my own life.

“It was hard because it was so risky; the wall was still very loose, and when I got home I was angry at myself for not being more careful, but it’s good that we managed to get to him.”

Wade Hollyoak, who DJs in Camden, was visiting a friend opposite at the time.

“The mechanics were giving my car an MOT while I was at my mate’s place. Then I heard an almighty crash,” he said.

“There was a lot of panic, but all the guys working at the garage ran upstairs to see what had happened and try to help. Then I heard this banging and screaming.

“Even when all the mechanics tried together, they couldn’t lift the wall that had fallen on the guy, so they had to smash it into smaller bits to get it off. The guys at Islington Auto Service were heroes, and I passed my MOT.”

A Met Police statement said: “On Saturday July 25 at 4.33pm police were called to reports that a roof had collapsed on a man at Newington Green, Islington. Officers attended alongside the London Ambulance Service and London Fire Brigade.

“Paramedics treated a 45-year-old man before taking him to hospital. His injuries have since been assessed as neither life-threatening nor life-changing.

“No other injuries were reported.”