MOSCOW, June 20 (RIA Novosti) - A man filmed his own death while recording demolition works in Lipetsk, Central Russia, regional broadcaster Most TV reported on Wednesday.
Yevgeny Titov, a 29-year-old shop assistant, took a break to capture the demolition of a two-storey building near his workplace on a mobile phone camera.
Workers tried to tear the brick structure down by making a bulldozer to pull steel cables attached to the building’s outer wall.
Judging by Titov’s chuckle and attempts to encourage the bulldozer driver, the man assumed that his life was in no danger and the distance was safe. Then a part of the building finally gave way and crashed down, sending huge chunks of bricks and concrete into the air.
The debris ricocheted from the asphalt and flew towards a group of spectators. A man who is seen standing closer to the site of the accident and also filming the event, managed to dodge the rubble, but Titov was knocked down by falling bricks.
The record continued as the phone owner was lying unconscious on the ground, with people running around him and calling for help.
Titov succumbed to his injuries in hospital. According to the victim’s relatives, all his ribs were fractured and his pelvis was smashed by the falling rubble. The man also suffered massive internal injuries and a severe head wound.
A criminal case was launched into suspected violation of safety rules, which resulted in an accidental death, the local investigative department said.
The tragedy occurred on June 16, but the victim’s relatives decided to make the record public only recently in a bid to attract media attention to the incident. YouTube later removed the video, saying the footage violated its content policies.
