James Dennis Kay, 62, from the Heywood area of Greater Manchester, was working for Sonaes demolition contractor, Andrew Connolly Demolition, when he suffered serious fatal injuries on Saturday (August 6) and died.
Sonae uses the Knowsley site to manufacture wood-based panels for the construction and furniture industries from around 98% recycled wood.
Its panelboard manufacturing operation has been temporarily closed followinga fire in June 2011(see letsrecycle.com story), with a phased start-up of the operation due to commence in October.
Mr Kay was operating a cherry picker crane, helping to demolish a 40 foot roof of the Sonae factory which had been damaged duringthe fire when the incident occurred.
A spokeswoman for the North West Ambulance Service, which attended the incident, told letsrecycle.com that Mr Kay appeared to have fallen, while localnewspaper reportssuggest that he brushed the controls of the cherry picker, sending it up into a steel girder which crushed him.
However, a post mortem carried out yesterday (August 7) was inconclusive as the exact cause of death.
Merseyside Police said they could confirm that a man has died following an incident at an industrial premises in Kirkby and that his next of kin had been informed.
In a statement, they said: Officers were called to the Sonae site on Moss Lane, Knowsley Industrial Park, shortly before 11am by the fire service. On arrival they found a man with serious injuries. Paramedics pronounced him dead at the scene shortly afterwards.
In a statement issued yesterday (August 7), Andrew Connolly, managing director of Andrew Connolly Demolition, said: Unfortunately, we can confirm that there has been a fatality of one of our construction workers whilst we were undertaking demolition work at Sonae Industrias plant in Kirkby yesterday (August 6).
“We are extremely saddened by this tragic incident and our deepest sympathies are with his family.
“A full investigation is now underway to establish exactly what happened in the segregated area of the plant that was under our control.
Investigation
Merseyside Police and the Health and Safety Executive have launched a joint investigation into the incident, which is the latest to beset the Sonae plant.
In December 2010, two workers died at the facility after reportedly becoming caught up in machinery (see letsrecycle.com story).
The companys record led to local MP George Howarth two months ago calling for the plant to be closed down for good (see letsrecycle.com story).
Commenting following the latest incident on Saturday (August 6), Mr Howarth said: My first thoughts are with the family of the man who died earlier today at the plant. I’m deeply saddened by this latest tragic incident.
It’s barely three weeks since I said that as matters stand I don’t see how anyone can have any confidence in Sonae to operate safely and with stability. It’s too early to comment on the details about this tragic incident, but I sincerely hope that this will never happen again.
Sonae
Sonae said that its thoughts were with Mr Kay’s family and colleagues. But, the company stressed that the incident involved its demolition contractor rather than the day-to-day operation of its plant.
Nigel Graham, managing director of Sonae Industria (UK) Ltd, said: We can confirm that there has been a fatality in the segregated demolition area controlled by one of our contractors at our plant in Kirkby today.
Our deepest heartfelt condolences are with Mr Kays family at this difficult time and our thoughts are also with his colleagues. We are unable to speculate about what happened at this stage, however a full investigation is now underway.
The Knowsley plant was closed on Sunday as a mark of respect but was due to re-open again today (August 8).
Subscribe for free