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Worker crushed to death in 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.

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.”

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