London (AFP) – Five men died Thursday in an accident at a recycling centre on the outskirts of Birmingham in central England and a sixth man has been taken to hospital with serious leg injuries, police said.
The dead men are all originally from Gambia and some are Spanish citizens who were working on a concrete wall when it collapsed on them along with scrap metal that was being stored inside, officials said.
The wall was made up of concrete blocks weighing about 1.5 tons each.
“Police can confirm that five men have died after an industrial accident at a recycling site at Nechells this morning,” the police statement said, referring to a suburb of the city.
“Officers were called… to reports that a wall had collapsed. Emergency services attended but the men could not be saved and they were pronounced dead at the scene,” the statement said.
Prime Minister David Cameron spoke of his shock at the tragedy, saying: “My thoughts are with the families of those involved”.
Police spokesman Mark Payne said: “We are still in the very early stages of this investigation to determine exactly what happened this morning.”
Prime Minister David Cameron tweeted that he was “shocked to hear about the tragedy in Birmingham. My thoughts are with the families of those involved.”
The local ambulance service was called to the site at 8:43am (0743 GMT) to attend to a patient “who was described as stuck and had suffered a cardiac arrest,” according to West Midlands Fire Service.
“On our arrival, it was clear that a large concrete structure containing metal had collapsed, trapping a number of people,” the fire service said in a statement.
“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.”
A team of 10 fire personnel, equipped with heavy lifting and cutting equipment, were conducting the emergency operation.
“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,” fire service spokesman Gary Taylor said.
“The scene is an extremely challenging one, involving significant tonnage of concrete and metal and a structure that is still unstable.”
According to an ambulance spokesman, the injured man was partially trapped by 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,” the spokesman said.
Hawkeswood Metal Recycling has been trading for more than 40 years and processes more than 500,000 tonnes of scrap metal each year, counting local authorities and international metal traders among its clients, according to its website.
COMMENTS
Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.