The investigation – which Police have said is likely to be a ‘long term’ inquiry – will determine the circumstances surrounding the deaths to “establish whether there is any criminal liability,” Detective Inspector Nigel Harrison told Senior Coroner Louise Hunt at an inquest last month (20 July).
Five workers lost their lives on 7 July when a concrete wall collapsed at the scrap metal recycling site in the Nechells area of Birmingham, which is run by Shredmet Limited and owned by West Midlands-based business Hawkeswood Metal Recycling.
Emergency services attended but the five men were pronounced dead at the scene. Another man was taken to hospital with serious leg injuries and has since been released.
Inquest
Five inquests into the deaths of the men, four of whom were from Gambia and one from Senegal, were opened and adjourned on 20 July in the Birmingham and Solihull Coroner’s Court.
Detective Harrison, the senior investigating officer, told the Court that “Documentation has been seized from the company offices [and] statements have been obtained from the majority of persons present at the site at the time.”
He also added that liaison has been commenced with the Crown Prosecution Service.
But Detective Harrison said “the investigation is in its infancy,” adding: “I anticipate, given the complexities, this will be a long term investigation. And unfortunately I will not be able to provide a more substantial update for some time, until at least the experts have reported and the case has been reviewed by the Crown Prosecution Service.”
The coroner proceeded to say that, given the complexity of the investigation, the inquests would be adjourned without fixing a future date, “pending the outcome of the investigation.”
A spokesperson for West Midlands Police told letsrecycle.com today (9 August) confirmed that the investigation remains ongoing.
Register for free to comment