But, the wall had been in place “more than two years” and had not been subject to damage, Shredmet Limited, the company which runs the site, has claimed.
Officers were called to the Ashton Church Road facility, Nechells at 8.45am yesterday to reports of a man trapped under a collapsed wall. The site is run by Shredmet Limited which is owned by West Midlands-based business Hawkeswood Metal Recycling.
In total, five men were pronounced dead at the scene and a sixth man sent to hospital with serious injuries (see letsrecycle.com story). Local sources suggest that the deceased were all Spanish nationals, originally from The Gambia.
Investigation
Looking into the cause of the incident, Detective Superintendent Mark Payne, from West Midlands CID, explained police would be assessing the structural integrity of the wall and the height of the scrap metal marks.
He said: “We will continue to work with the other agencies to conduct a thorough investigation to ascertain exactly the circumstances that led to this tragic incident.
“There’s a significant amount of scrap metal. The wall has fallen forward and the scrap metal has fallen on top of that, so a huge amount of weight.”
Detective Payne added that people at the site were “distressed” and that a “very careful” recovery operation was underway to recover the men – which could help identify how the wall came to collapse.
Shredmet
In a statement, Shredmet Limited said it would be cooperating fully with the West Midlands Police investigation to establish what caused the accident.
The company said: “The loss of life and injury were caused by the collapse of a partioning wall within the company premises.
“At the present time, it is not known why the wall collapsed, as the wall had been in place for more than two years and had not been subject to any damage or was not subject to any incident that would have resulted in its collapse.
“The incident is being fully investigated by the West Midlands Police and The Health and Safety Executive, and the management of Shredmet Limited and its work force are providing full cooperation with the investigation.”
Fire service
Ben Brook, area commander for West Midlands Fire Service who gave a statement at the scene, said: “On our arrival, it was clear that a large concrete structure, containing metal and concrete, had collapsed – trapping a number of people.
“Once the police have finished their initial examination of the scene, our absolute priority will be to ensure 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.
“The scene is an extremely challenging one for us, involving significant tonnage of concrete and metal, and a structure that is still unstable.
“We’re working incredibly hard at the moment to start making the scene safe.”
BMRA
Hawkeswood Metal Recycling has meanwhile been confirmed as a member of the British Metals Recycling Association (BMRA), the largest trade association representing metal recycling businesses in the UK.
In a statement released yesterday afternoon a BMRA spokeswoman said: “At this time, we would like to extend our deepest sympathies to the victims’ families and their colleagues.
“While efforts are still underway to recover the bodies, and the cause of the incident is not yet clear, it would not be appropriate to comment further.
“However, we stand ready to assist the Health and Safety Executive during its investigation and will continue to support the company concerned.”
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