A 12-year-old boy has died and a man has been injured after a garage wall collapsed at an Essex home, police say.
Essex Police were alerted to the incident by the fire service just before 7pm on Friday due to concerns for the welfare of two people following the wall collase at a property on St John’s Road, Clacton.
The force said road closures were in place while emergency services dealt with the incident.
A man in his 30s was rescued from the rubble and sustained an arm injury. Despite the best efforts of paramedics, the 12-year-old boy sadly died at the scene.
His death is being treated as non-suspicious and a file will be prepared for the coroner.
Officers say the pair were known to each other.
Detective Inspector James Hardingham, leading the investigation, said:“My thoughts are with the family and friends of those concerned at this sad time.
“We’re continuing our enquiries to establish the facts leading to the wall collapse.
“If anyone has information that can help us, or anyone who was in St John’s Road just before 7pm last night and saw anything that could help our investigation, should call us.”
Police confirmed the house the garage was attached to has since been declared safe.
Essex Fire and Rescue Service said they sent four crews to the scene in a bid to free the pair from the rubble.
“This is a tragic incident and our thoughts are with everyone who knew the child as well as the wider Clacton community,” station manager Nick Singleton said.
“Our firefighters worked incredibly hard to save both casualties and this is never the outcome we want to see.
“We will be offering further support to all of the firefighters who attended this difficult incident.”
If you have any information, CCTV, dash cam or other footage in relation to this incident, Essex Police are asking to please get in contact with them.
You can let them know by submitting a report on our website or by using our online Live Chat service available Monday to Friday (excluding public holidays) between 10am-9pm. Visit www.essex.police.uk/digital101 to find out more about our website reporting services.
Alternatively, you can call Essex Police on 101.In an emergency always call 999.
If you would like to make an anonymous report, you can contact independent charity on Twitter at @CrimestoppersUK, by visiting their website or by calling 0800 555 111. Please quote incident 1121 of 21 October when providing any information to make sure it gets to the right person as quickly as possible.
