The tragic incident occurred on Wednesday, Feb. 25
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NEED TO KNOW
- An 82-year-old man was fatally crushed by an excavator at a car wrecking yard in Munich, Germany, on Wednesday, Feb. 25
- Local police said the elderly man had apparently entered the vehicle “unnoticed”
- It is believed the victim may have been at the site to collect junk metal, per the BBC
An 82-year-old man has died after being fatally crushed by a crane at a car junkyard in Germany.
The incident happened shortly before 3:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 25, in the Obersendling area of the city, the Munich Police Department said, per a translated press release.
Police said a 60-year-old man was working at the premises and “operating an excavator used to process vehicles destined for scrapping. While doing so, he used the excavator's grab arm to crush the roof of a car and then turned the vehicle upside down.”
A witness then noticed that there was a “lifeless person inside the car,” according to police.
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Authorities said the man had apparently entered the vehicle unnoticed and was fatally injured when the roof of the car was crushed.
The man who died lived in Munich, police added.
“Emergency services were alerted, and firefighters, paramedics, and police responded to the company premises,” the release continued. “Firefighters had to use specialized equipment to recover the body of the deceased 82-year-old man from the car.”
According to a police spokesperson, per the BBC, the car did not belong to the man who died.
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The outlet reported that it is believed the elderly victim may have been at the site to collect junk metal.
The Munich traffic police are investigating the incident, per the release.
PEOPLE has contacted the Munich Police Department for further comment.
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