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| Five die and one seriously injured in incident at Birmingham recycling plant after 'wall collapses' | Five die and one seriously injured in incident at Birmingham recycling plant after 'wall collapses' |
| (about 3 hours later) | |
| Five people have died and one is seriously injured following an incident at a recycling plant in Birmingham. | Five people have died and one is seriously injured following an incident at a recycling plant in Birmingham. |
| Emergency services were called to Hawkeswood Metal shortly after 8:45am, following reports a wall had collapsed. | |
| The men are believed to be Spanish nationals, originally from Gambia. | |
| Five of the men were pronounced dead at the scene. Another man is currently been treated in hospital for serious leg injuries. His injuries are not thought to be life threatening. | |
| An investigation has been launched into the circumstances of the incident. | An investigation has been launched into the circumstances of the incident. |
| Detective Superintendent Mark Payne, from Westmidlands Police said: “On arrival, ambulance crews found a wall that had collapsed. Sadly, there was nothing that could be done to save the five men who had been working next to it. We are still in the very early stages of this investigation to determine exactly what happened this morning. | Detective Superintendent Mark Payne, from Westmidlands Police said: “On arrival, ambulance crews found a wall that had collapsed. Sadly, there was nothing that could be done to save the five men who had been working next to it. 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. | “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.” | “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.” |
| A spokesperson for West Midlands Ambulance Service told Birmingham Mail the sixth man had become trapped by falling concrete, but managed to free himself from the rubble. | A spokesperson for West Midlands Ambulance Service told Birmingham Mail the sixth man had become trapped by falling concrete, but managed to free himself from the rubble. |
| They said: "On arrival, ambulance crews found a wall that had collapsed. Sadly, there was nothing that could be done to save the five men who had been working next to it. A sixth man was partially trapped by the falling concrete but had managed to get out from the rubble himself. | They said: "On arrival, ambulance crews found a wall that had collapsed. Sadly, there was nothing that could be done to save the five men who had been working next to it. A sixth man was partially trapped by the falling concrete but had managed to get out from the rubble himself. |
| "He was treated at the scene by ambulance staff and the doctor from the air ambulance for a broken leg before he was taken to Heartlands Hospital for further treatment." | "He was treated at the scene by ambulance staff and the doctor from the air ambulance for a broken leg before he was taken to Heartlands Hospital for further treatment." |
| It is believed the men were working when a 15ft concrete bay wall collapsed on them, causing blocks weighing one-and-a-half tons each to come down as well as scrap metal. | |
| Mr Payne added that the bodies of the deceased had yet to be recovered from the rubble but it was hoped they would be overnight. He said: “We're simply trying to recover the bodies of the men and do it in a way which will help understand exactly how that wall came to fall down. | |
| “Clearly we are investigating together with the HSE, whether there are any issues of negligence or malpractice that have contributed to that wall falling down. | |
| "That wall was supporting a body of scrap metal. It appears that that wall has collapsed on top of the men and then the scrap metal behind the wall has fallen on top.” | |