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| Version 8 | Version 9 |
|---|---|
| Man killed as building collapses | Man killed as building collapses |
| (about 8 hours later) | |
| A man died when a block of flats collapsed in the Black Country. | |
| The incident happened above an estate agent's office in High Street, West Bromwich, early on Wednesday. | |
| The man's body was found and later recovered after sniffer dogs were sent in. Two men were rescued and taken to hospital with minor injuries. | |
| Two others made their own way out of the three-storey building. Police said that the weight of the collapsed roof caused the floors below to give way. | |
| Det Ch Insp Danny Long said officers believed they knew who the man was and had contacted his family. | Det Ch Insp Danny Long said officers believed they knew who the man was and had contacted his family. |
| I heard a loud bang and then there was like a rumbling which seemed to go on for ages Russ Basford, eyewitness | I heard a loud bang and then there was like a rumbling which seemed to go on for ages Russ Basford, eyewitness |
| He said paramedics declared the trapped man dead several hours after the building collapsed. | He said paramedics declared the trapped man dead several hours after the building collapsed. |
| The cause of the collapse is unknown and police said it was too early to say if there were suspicious circumstances. | The cause of the collapse is unknown and police said it was too early to say if there were suspicious circumstances. |
| The property is a terraced building, with a Bairstow Eves estate agents on the ground floor and residential addresses on two floors above. | The property is a terraced building, with a Bairstow Eves estate agents on the ground floor and residential addresses on two floors above. |
| All neighbouring properties were evacuated and all shops in the street closed. | All neighbouring properties were evacuated and all shops in the street closed. |
| 'Really bad' | 'Really bad' |
| Russ Basford, 32, who lives three doors away from the scene, said: "I heard a loud bang and then there was like a rumbling which seemed to go on for ages. | Russ Basford, 32, who lives three doors away from the scene, said: "I heard a loud bang and then there was like a rumbling which seemed to go on for ages. |
| "We had an earthquake around here a few years back so I thought we were having another one. Everything was shaking." | "We had an earthquake around here a few years back so I thought we were having another one. Everything was shaking." |
| Mr Basford said he went outside to see what had happened and saw a man kicking at the estate agent's metal shutters from the inside. | Mr Basford said he went outside to see what had happened and saw a man kicking at the estate agent's metal shutters from the inside. |
| He said: "Me and another guy went round the back to try and get in. There was no way we could lift the shutters. | He said: "Me and another guy went round the back to try and get in. There was no way we could lift the shutters. |
| "The man was shouting that he was trapped under something. | "The man was shouting that he was trapped under something. |
| "The guy I was with got in through a back window and saw the man who was trapped but he said he couldn't get him. | "The guy I was with got in through a back window and saw the man who was trapped but he said he couldn't get him. |
| "When he came out he said it was really bad inside." | "When he came out he said it was really bad inside." |