An middle-aged man reportedly fell into a soakaway and died at Oredo Primary Health Centre in Oredo Local Government Area of Edo State during registration for free medical care.
The free medical care for residents of the state is organised by the state government in collaboration with the Association of Nigerian Physicians in the United States of America.
According to Vanguard, the unidentified man left the long queue during the free registration exercise to ease himself within the premises when the tragedy occurred on Wednesday.
The deceased was said to have mistakenly stepped on a soakaway within the premises and slipped into it and got drowned in the process.
It was also gathered that there was no caution sign around the dilapidated soakaway, which was covered with grasses.
The incident temporarily caused panic among the health workers and those waiting to be registered as they wailed uncontrollably.
It was further learned that the victim was brought out dead from the soakaway with the aid of an excavator brought to the premises by the emergency response team, which came four hours later.
Vanguard reported that the registration for free medical care was temporarily suspended after the tragedy.
The state Commissioner for Health, Prof. Akoria Obehi and the state police the spokesman, Kotongs Bello, could not be reached to comment on the incident as at the time of filling this report.
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