Five dead as wall collapses at Birmingham recycling centre...

Five men have been killed in an industrial accident at a recycling site in Birmingham



The tragedy is believed to have been caused when a wall collapsed at Hawkeswood Metal in Aston Church Road, Nechells.

Emergency services attended but the men could not be saved and they were pronounced dead at the scene.

Another man has been taken to hospital with serious leg injuries.

A full investigation has been started into one of the biggest tragedies to hit Birmingham in recent years.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has been notified inspectors are understood to be helping police officers at the scene.

Officers were called by West Midlands Ambulance Service at 8.45am to reports that a wall had collapsed.

Detective Superintendent Mark Payne, from Force CID, said: “We are still in the very early stages of this investigation to determine exactly what happened this morning. “Sadly five people have lost their lives and we have several teams of specialist officers supporting their families at this time.

“This has been a very traumatic incident for those who were at the site this morning and we will continue to work alongside the HSE and the other emergency services at the scene.”

West Midlands Fire Brigade says they were called to the scene by the West Midlands Ambulance Service. A crew from Ward End station was on the scene by 8.48am.

A spokesman said: “On our arrival it was clear that a large concrete structure containing metal had collapsed, trapping a number of people. Very sadly, five people were pronounced dead at the scene by a doctor. One other person who was seriously injured was taken to hospital by the ambulance service.”

Assistant Chief Fire Officer Gary Taylor, of West Midlands Fire Service, said: “This is a devastating incident is for everyone involved. Our thoughts and deepest sympathies are with the victims’ families and colleagues.

“Once the police have finished their initial examination of the scene, our absolute priority will be to ensure that the bodies of those who have lost their lives are recovered in the most timely and safe way possible, and with the utmost dignity and respect.”

Asst Chf Fire Officer Gary Taylor added that the collapsed structure was still very unstable, hampering efforts to recover the bodies. He said:

"The scene is an extremely challenging one, involving significant tonnage of concrete and metal and a structure that is still unstable. We have an assertive recovery plan in place and expect this operation to take several hours. The skills and services of West Midlands Fire Service will be available for whatever needs to be done, and we will be working hand in glove with our partners at the scene."

Post-mortem examinations of men killed in Birmingham recycling plant tragedy to take place in Coventry



The post-mortem examinations of five men crushed in a tragic accident at a recycling plant in Birmingham will take place in Coventry on Monday.

The Gambian men, believed to be Spanish nationals, were killed at the Hawkeswood Metal Recycling plant, in Nechells, Thursday morning when a wall collapsed on them.

According to West Midlands Police , following a 24-hour operation to remove the bodies from the site, they will now be transferred to University Hospital Coventry.

State-of-the-art CT scanners at the hospital will be used as part of the post-mortem examinations.

Detective Superintendent Mark Payne said: “All five bodies have been successfully recovered.

“They are in a temporary mortuary facility. We will move them to Coventry Hospital because there is specialist equipment that we use in post-mortems.

“Forensic post-mortems will take place on Monday.”

He said they will be working with the families to formalise the identities in the days ahead. “It’s a complicated process.”

Det Supt Payne added all the next of kin had been informed.

The Gambian men, believed to be Spanish nationals

- I wonder just how many of them could even speak Spanish? I'll bet their passports were about as valid as a 9 bob note.