Updates on Friday 8 July 2016
Five men went to work and will never get to go home again., external
Tragedy has struck in our city, when guests in our country died after a collapse at an industrial plant in Nechells, external, and for many it will never go away.
Now, the Birmingham Mail wants to help our city to help their families by fundraising for them.
Chris Blakemore
BBC WM
Two bodies were pulled out last night and it could take most of the day to recover the other three.
The fire service has told us that to do that, it is having to drill through concrete columns to break them up so they can be moved.
The collapsed wall was made up of several of these blocks, estimated to weigh 1.5 tonnes each.
Emergency vehicles are a constant presence.
Police say an investigation into how five men died at a Nechells metal recycling plant is ongoing.
Det Supt Mark Payne of West Midlands Police said: "We know there was a concrete wall made up of 1.5 tonne blocks that was retaining a huge pile of scrap metal. That wall has fallen over on top of five workers.
"The metal it was containing has fallen on top of that. You can imagine the complexity of that scene."
He added: "What we're trying to do is get to the bodies as quickly as possible and as safely as possible to give them the dignity they deserve."
Image source, PA
Rob Mayor
Reporter, BBC WM
These flowers have been left outside the gates of the recycling plant where five men lost their lives.
A message reads: "R.I.P one love".
Adrian Goldberg
Presenter, BBC WM
Throughout the morning, countless emergency vehicles have been coming to Hawkeswood Metal in Nechells.
A fire service technical rescue van has arrived.
Police officers continue to guard the entrance of the site.
Emergency services hope the bodies of three men will be recovered by the end of the day.
Last night two bodies were removed from the scene.
Det Supt Mark Payne of West Midlands Police tells BBC WM that he hopes the bodies can be accessed earlier, although he has described the scene as "complex".
"We're trying to get them throughout the morning," he said. West Midlands Fire Service confirms that recovery work has resumed.
The sheer amount of debris left by the collapse is among the difficulties facing recovery crews.
Not only did the wall - comprised of heavy concrete blocks - fall on to the men, so did the metal it was retaining.
Image source, PA / BBCQuote MessageIt's an extremely difficult and complex scene. There is still a significant amount of metal which we are having to move each time we access one of the concrete blocks. It is an extremely difficult challenging task this morning.
Detective Superintendent Mark Payne, West Midlands Police
Work to recover the remaining bodies is now under way, the fire service says.
Allow Twitter content?
This article contains content provided by Twitter. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as they may be using cookies and other technologies. You may want to read Twitter’s cookie policy, external and privacy policy, external before accepting. To view this content choose ‘accept and continue’.
It's still not yet known how a wall made of several concrete blocks collapsed, killing five men.
Each block in the 15ft high structure has been estimated to weigh 1.5 tonnes.
Hawkeswood Metal said the wall had been in place for more than two years and had not been subject to any damage.
Two bodies have been recovered. Work to free the remaining three resumes this morning.
More than £2,000 has been raised by the Birmingham Mail, external for the families of those affected by the deaths of five men in Nechells.
The local newspaper is working alongside the Lord Mayor's Charity Appeal to raise money for them.
Image source, Just GivingThe newspaper writes:, external "Children have lost fathers, wives have lost husbands, mothers have lost sons.
"Now, the Birmingham Mail wants to help our city to help their families by fundraising for them."
Stephanie Barnard
BBC Local Live
Here's what we know so far:
Two bodies have been removed from a recycling site in Birmingham where a retaining wall holding scrap metal collapsed, killing a total of five men.
The men were working at Hawkeswood Metal, in Nechells, when the 15ft (4.5m) wall of concrete and metal fell on them just before 09:00 on Thursday.
West Midlands Police described it as "a very traumatic incident".
Scene of Birmingham wall collapse from the air
This aerial footage was taken over the site yesterday.
A married father of seven was among victims of the fatal accident, external at the Shredmet site, owned by Hawkeswood Metal.
The bodies of two of the five men killed when a retaining wall at a recycling site in Birmingham fell on them, are removed from the scene.
Read MoreAdrian Goldberg
Presenter, BBC WM
I'm down in Nechells this morning to reflect on the tragic deaths of five men who left for work yesterday morning and never came home.
The five were killed when they were crushed by a concrete wall which collapsed on them at this recycling site, Hawkeswood Metal.
The investigation will carry on to find out what caused the 15ft wall to fall on the men at about 09:00 yesterday.
Last night a private ambulance left Hawkeswood Metal, in Nechells, Birmingham where five men died. Two bodies have been recovered.
West Midlands Police says it will continue this morning to recover three other bodies from the scene - described as a "difficult and complex process".
The five who died have not yet been officially named but are thought to be Spanish nationals of Gambian origin, who moved to Birmingham to work.
Stephanie Barnard
BBC Local Live
I'm in the BBC WM newsroom bringing you the latest news, after five men died at a metal recycling plant in Nechells.
We'll be bringing you developments on this story between now and 18:00.
If you would like to get in touch with the BBC Local Live team today, email us, tweet @bbcwm, external or visit the BBC WM Facebook page, external.
