Man suffers multiple injuries in 18ft fall at former Caparo factory - WATCH as air ambulance lands at scene
A man has been left in a serious condition after falling 18ft at a former Caparo factory in Wednesbury.
The man, in his 20s, fell shortly before 3pm this afternoon at the site in Heath Road.
West Midlands Police were called to the scene along with West Midlands Ambulance Service and West Midlands Fire Service.
The initial 999 call said a tanker had exploded on the site but this turned out to be incorrect, with the police saying the man was burning fencing when he fell into a tank.
He was airlifted to hospital and is in a serious condition.
The former Caparo Atlas Fastening factory where the incident took place is now owned by KTC Edibles, who owned factories elsewhere in Wednesbury.
Panesh Mehta, the commercial director at the firm, told the Express & Star it was a contractor on the site at the time who had been hired by KTC to clear the old factory of all the metal left behind by Caparo.
The ambulance service sent an ambulance, paramedic officer and the Warwickshire air ambulance with a doctor on board to the scene.
A spokeswoman said: "We treated a man in his 20s who had fallen around 18ft from a tank.
"He sustained multiple injuries and was given trauma care at the scene.
"He was taken by air ambulance to Queen Elizabeth with the doctor on board. The man is in a serious condition."
West Midlands Police put a cordon in place and closed several roads around the site while the fire service dealt with reports of gas leaking from the site.
This has now been dealt with and the cordon was lifted around 5pm.
The Health and Safety Executive confirmed to the Express & Star it was aware of the incident and was making initial inquiries.
