Man Dies After Being Crushed While Working On Hydraulic Urinal

A man has died after being crushed while working on a hydraulic urinal in London’s West End.

Emergency services tried to save the man, who has not been named, but he died at the scene on Friday.

Ambulance crews, an air ambulance and firefighters were dispatched at 1.05pm and police were called five minutes later.

The incident took place at Cambridge Circus on the junction between Shaftesbury Avenue and Charing Cross Road.

The man was freed earlier on Friday but was pronounced dead soon after.

This type of urinal is a pop-up toilet stored beneath the ground which is brought to street level at night. They have been used in the capital for more than a decade.

The man is thought to have been trapped below street level underneath the urinal.

A Metropolitan Police spokesman said: “We’re sorry to have to update that, despite the efforts of emergency services, the man who was critically injured in Cambridge Circus was pronounced dead at the scene.

“His next of kin have been informed. Cordons remain in place at the location

“Police were called at around 1.10pm on Friday January 27, to a seriously injured man at Cambridge Circus, W1.

“The man is thought to have sustained crush injuries while working on a telescopic urinal at the location.”

A London Ambulance Service spokesman said: “We were called today at 1.05pm to reports of an incident on Shaftesbury Avenue, Charing Cross.

“We sent a number of resources to the scene, including an ambulance crew, members of our hazardous area response team, members of our tactical response unit and a medic in a fast response car.

“We also dispatched London’s Air Ambulance.”