Birmingham wall collapse deaths: £20,000 raised for families of migrant workers crushed at recycling plant

Public donations roll in after death of five Spanish nationals in Nechells area

Public donations have rolled in since the tragedy at the Hawkeswood Metal recycling plant (PA)

A fundraising drive for the bereaved families of five workers crushed to death when a wall collapsed has raised more than £20,000 in just three days.

Public donations have rolled in since the tragedy at the Hawkeswood Metal recycling plant in the heavily industrialised Nechells area of Birmingham on Thursday.

All of the men were Spanish nationals but originally from Gambia.

The victims have been named locally as Saibo Sillah, 42, Ousman Jabbie, Mohammed Jangana, Alimano Jammeh and Bangaly Dukureh, 50, and were all married with children.

A sixth man suffered a broken leg after tons of concrete and metal fell on top of the work crew, who were believed to have been clearing an outside storage bay, but he managed to pull himself free.

In a painstaking two-day operation, beginning immediately after the collapse on Thursday morning and ending on Friday afternoon, emergency crews had to remove one-and-a-half ton concrete blocks and tons of rubble to retrieve the remains.

Leaders of the city's 10,000-strong Gambian community said on Sunday that police were continuing work to formally identify the victims and had been collecting DNA samples from relatives, and descriptions of what the men had been wearing.

Ansumana Barrow, president of the city's Gambian Association, said that all the families had now been contacted and financial and practical support given.

The 63-year-old factory worker added that Mr Jammeh's wife and children had flown into Birmingham Airport from Gambia on Sunday to be told the news of his death.

Mr Barrow said: "We went to see all of the families.

"We have been to see them every single day, to see what they need. They are being taken care of."

He added most had needed immediate "financial support" as the victims had all been their families' bread-winners.

Mr Barrow said relatives had not yet been to see their loved ones as forensic tests were continuing.

The Gambian Association has set up a bank account for donations from the community.

A second fundraising drive set up by the Birmingham Mail through the city's Lord Mayor's Charity Appeal has so far gathered more than £20,500, with a further £2,400 in Gift Aid on top.

The money collected is to go towards costs of funerals, travel and on-going need.

One anonymous donor had written on the appeal's website: "Died doing work that most people find too difficult, too dirty, too poorly paid and not good enough for them."

Another said: "So sorry for the loss. Also, at an unsettled time following the EU referendum, I want to donate to show the UK has not lost its compassion."

Further information can be found here.

A joint West Midlands Police and Health and Safety Executive (HSE) investigation is under way but is expected to take months to piece together what happened.

Press Association