A 45-year-old man, Yusuf Usman, has died on Wednesday while trying to retrieve his handset from an abandoned well in Kwa Town, Dawakin Tofa Local Government Area of Kano State.

The well had been converted into a waste disposal pit.

The Director, Kano State Fire Service, Alhaji Sani Anas, disclosed this in a statement signed by the Service’s Public Relations Officer, Alhaji Saminu Abdullahi, issued to newsmen in Kano on Wednesday.

According to the statement, the incident occurred on Wednesday morning.

“We received an emergency call from the Emergency Response Unit (Control Room) through one of our staff members, Kabiru Tata, at about 11:13a.m. that a man had fallen into a well.

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“We immediately dispatched our rescue team to the scene,” the statement said.

It added that the victim had entered the well to retrieve a mobile phone that fell inside but was unable to climb out.

“The rescue team brought him out unconscious. He was later confirmed dead due to oxygen depletion and heat inside the well.

“The victim’s body was handed over to the ward head of Kwa town, Alhaji Muktar,” the statement confirmed.

It noted that the director appealed to residents, particularly parents and community leaders, to ensure that wells were properly covered to prevent similar incidents. (NAN)