A contractor in the UK died after he was trapped beneath a pop-up urinal that dropped suddenly, a court has determined.
Kevin Holding, 60, was killed on Jan. 27 at Cambridge Circus in central London, where he was repairing a pop-urinal, the BBC reported.
A recent inquest at Inner West London Coroner’s Court revealed that Holding, who worked for Washroom Solutions Limited, had been working on the device for several hours when it suddenly fell just before 1 p.m., trapping him underneath.
According to police, the horrifying moment was captured on CCTV.
While emergency services arrived almost immediately, there was a two-hour delay for the vehicle required to help lift the urinal, the report continued.
Holding was crushed when the pop-up urinal dropped “suddenly.” Twiter / @KetoCancerQueen
A contractor in London was pronounced dead outside the Palace Theater after he was crushed by a pop-up urinal. APAfter finally being freed, Holding was pronounced dead outside the Palace Theater at 3:40 local time. He was identified by his public transport card.
Coroner Prof. Fiona Wilcox determined Holding’s cause of death was compression asphyxia. At the inquest, she expressed her “very sincere condolences” to Holding’s partner and his three children.
London’s pop-up urinals were introduced by the Westminster City Council about 20 years ago, the BBC explained.
It took over two hours to free Holding from underneath the urinal. APTypically stored underground, the devices are hydraulically raised at night to discourage street urination.
