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| Birmingham wall collapse deaths: Recovery effort restarts | |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| Workers have resumed efforts to recover the bodies of three of the five men killed when a wall collapsed at a recycling plant in Birmingham. | Workers have resumed efforts to recover the bodies of three of the five men killed when a wall collapsed at a recycling plant in Birmingham. |
| Two bodies have already been retrieved from the rubble at Hawkeswood Metal in Nechells, where a 15ft (4.5m) wall of concrete and metal collapsed on Thursday morning. | |
| The five men are believed to be Spanish nationals of Gambian origin. | |
| West Midlands Police said the recovery was "a difficult and complex process". | West Midlands Police said the recovery was "a difficult and complex process". |
| Wall collapse deaths: Latest updates | Wall collapse deaths: Latest updates |
| The men have been named locally as Bangaly Dukureh, Ousman Jabbie, Alimano Jammeh, Mohammed Jangana and Saibo Sillah. All are believed to married with children. | |
| A sixth man who was injured in the crush but managed to free himself is being treated in hospital for a broken leg. | |
| Tributes have been paid to the men, and prayer services have been held in local mosques. | Tributes have been paid to the men, and prayer services have been held in local mosques. |
| The local branch of the Gambian Association, based in Ladywood, said it was "devastated" by the news. | The local branch of the Gambian Association, based in Ladywood, said it was "devastated" by the news. |
| Fizar Mahmood, who lives next to the recycling site, said he heard the sound of the wall collapsing but only found out what had happened when his brother called him later. | |
| "I heard the noise in the morning, I didn't expect that this would be happening here," he said. | "I heard the noise in the morning, I didn't expect that this would be happening here," he said. |
| At the scene: Rebecca Woods, BBC reporter | |
| After 24 hours of waiting for news, tensions are running high at Hawkeswood Metal. | |
| A dozen men are waiting for news of their loved ones. | |
| One of them Boubakaray Sera, broke down in tears, begging police and fire officers for information. | |
| "This is killing me. My brother is there. I don't know anything," he said to the workers. | |
| Mr Sera and other relatives have since been taken behind the cordon where they are being briefed on how the recovery operation is progressing. | |
| Lamin Yaffa leads the Gambian Islamic Centre on Raglan Road in the Cape Hill area of Birmingham. | |
| He said the community had been deeply affected by the deaths, and was rallying round to help the men's families. | |
| "There's been a huge response, people are very shocked," he said. | |
| "There are quite a lot of Gambians in Birmingham, it's a close community and we all know each other. Gambians are still like the olden days of the UK, people are very close. | |
| "We need to look at how to give the families the comfort they need." | |
| Det Supt Mark Payne, from West Midlands Police, said emergency services were working to remove the concrete and metal and give the dead men "the dignity they deserve". | Det Supt Mark Payne, from West Midlands Police, said emergency services were working to remove the concrete and metal and give the dead men "the dignity they deserve". |
| He said they had a "reasonable idea" about what happened, but said an investigation was continuing. | |
| Hawkeswood Metal Recycling Ltd was established more than 40 years ago, and says it deals with more than 500,000 tonnes of scrap metal each year at its Nechells site. | |
| The company, which employs about 50 people, was fined £50,000 in 2012 after a worker's arm became trapped in machinery. It also pleaded guilty at Birmingham Crown Court to a breach of health and safety law. | |
| The recycling plant was also the scene of a major fire in February this year, as 700 tonnes of scrap metal went up in flames. |