A 69-year-old German man was killed on Monday after a pile of plasterboard fell on him at a Bauhaus home improvement store in Cologne.

According to police, the man was loading pieces of plasterboard with some helpers into his car from the warehouse of the store when a pile of pallets tipped over. The man was unable to get out of the way and was hit with the heavy load.

An emergency physician called to the scene was unable to resuscitate the man.

Police have opened a criminal investigation into the man's death. Police said an authorized expert has been called to the scene to evaluate whether proper safety precautions were taken.

dv/ng (dpa, AFP)

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