Officers were called to reports of a wall collapsing at Shredmet, part of Hawkeswood Metal on Ashton Church Road, Nechells at 8.45am by West Midlands Ambulance Service.
Activities at the site include ferrous and non-ferrous metals recycling and the operation of a fragmentiser plant. It is unclear what caused the wall to collapse. Weather conditions were said to be calm.
Emergency services attended but the men could not be saved and they were pronounced dead at the scene. Another man has been taken to hospital with serious leg injuries.
An investigation into what happened is now underway. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has been notified and are assisting officers at the scene.
Investigation
Detective Superintendent Mark Payne, from Force CID, said: “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.
“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.”
‘Large concrete structure’
West Midlands Fire Service said that a “a large concrete structure containing metal had collapsed, trapping a number of people.”
In a statement, the Fire Service said: “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. One of our Technical Rescue Advisors also attended the scene to make an assessment of the situation and of what further resources and skills were needed. As a result, we have deployed the full resources of our specialist Technical Rescue Unit. This involves heavy lifting and cutting equipment, and a team of 10 personnel.
“We are working at the scene with the police and ambulance services, as well as the Health and Safety Executive and a structural engineer.
The scene is an extremely challenging one
Assistant chief fire officer, Gary Taylor
West Midlands Fire Service
Assistant chief fire officer Gary Taylor said: “This is a devastating incident is for everyone involved. Our thoughts and deepest sympathies are with the victims’ families and colleagues.”
Bodies
The WMFS said that the bodies of the five men would be recovered. Mr Taylor continued: “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.
“The scene is an extremely challenging one, involving significant tonnage of concrete and metal and a structure that is still unstable. We have an assertive recovery plan in place and expect this operation to take several hours. The skills and services of West Midlands Fire Service will be available for whatever needs to be done, and we will be working hand in glove with our partners at the scene.”
Hawkeswood
Hawkeswood Metal handles both ferrous and non ferrous and according to local reports handles considerable volumes at the Nechells site where it also run a fragmentiser plant to process metals. Material is understood to be stored at the site prior to onward transportation.
On its website, the company notes that it has been trading “for more than 40 years in the recycling industry, and has built up an extensive and healthy customer base that includes local authorities, major Plc’s, UK and International metal traders and small independent companies. We trade in ferrous, non-ferrous and precious metals and currently operate from three fully licensed sites. All our plant and machinery is of high specification and is constantly being maintained and updated these are to include baling machines, cutting machines, sorting machines, press and shear and magnet separation machines.”
The metals site is an area with other recycling businesses, notably the Smurfit Kappa mill which is just 0.2 miles from Hawkeswood.
Related links
Hawkeswood Metal Recycling
Register for free to comment