All five Birmingham wall collapse bodies recovered after painstaking operation

The final three victims were removed from beneath tonnes of metal and concrete rubble on Friday after a painstaking two-day operation by emergency services involving the use of heavy lifting gear.

All five men were pronounced dead at the scene following the incident at Hawkeswood Metal Recycling in the Nechells area of Birmingham at around 8.40am yesterday.

Two of the dead were taken from the scene on Thursday, while the remaining three were today set to be taken to a mortuary in nearby Coventry.

Forensic post-mortem examinations are set to be carried out on the victims on Monday and the coroner has been kept closely informed of developments.

Detective Superintendent Mark Payne, of West Midlands Police, told family and friends who had gathered at the scene: "We have safely recovered all five of the men.

"We've recovered all the people, moved everything out of the way and we've managed to recover them safely and with dignity."

Mr Payne said that formal identification would take place "as soon as possible" once next of kin had been taken to see their loved ones.

He said the mortuary to which all the victims were being taken to had the specialist CT scanning equipment needed in order to help establish how the men died.

Mr Payne added: "The only way we'll be able to identify some of them is through DNA and specialist techniques."

The dead are all Spanish nationals originally from Gambia and were working to clean out a metal storage bay when a 15ft (4.5m) side wall collapsed on them.

Earlier, there were emotional scenes as loved ones expressed concern at how long the delicate recovery operation had been taking.

The brother of one of the victims pleaded with emergency services at the cordon to "Please God, take him out" of the rubble.

Boubakaray Sera, 56, from London, said he was the "only one left" after the death of his brother, Bangaly Dukureh.

He told reporters he had last spoken with his brother at Eid, to wish him well.

The father-of-nine said: "He was very healthy, there was nothing wrong with him.

"Then one day he came here and he's dead."

Mr Sera said his brother had a 15-year-old son.

Later he pleaded in tears with police officer at the scene to bring his brother out.

He said: "He wanted to go back to Gambia in October - now this has killed him.

"Please God, take him out. Since yesterday, how many hours?

"We have to bring him (out) - please, brother."

He added: "We are patient, we aren't animals."

Blocks weighing about one-and-a-half tons each came down along with tons of scrap metal being held up by the wall.

The victims have been named locally as being from the city's tight-knit, 10,000-strong Gambian community.

Saibo Sillah, 42, Ousman Jabbie, Mohammed Jangana, Alimano Jammeh and Mr Dukureh were all married with children, according to the city's Gambian Association.

Mr Sillah had three-year-old twins, and Mr Jangana had a baby, while friends of Mr Jammeh revealed that his wife and children were due to arrive in the UK to join him on Sunday.

Members of the community said the men were hard workers on the minimum wage who had been employed through a recruitment agency.

The president of the city's Gambian Association, Ansumana Barrow, said the community had been left "devastated".

The 63-year-old, who is a factory worker in Brierley Hill, said the association would try to help the bereaved families, widows and the dead men's children.

A sixth man injured in the accident is in hospital after suffering a broken leg, although it is not thought to be life-threatening.

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

On Friday, a crane was operating to remove the heavy concrete blocks - each taking an hour at a time to move - from the scene.

Overnight, specialist officers from West Midlands Fire Service had been drilling lifting pins into the blocks, ready to hoist as soon as operations resumed on Friday morning.

Detective Superintendent Mark Payne, of West Midlands Police, said it was "a complex" job to remove the bodies with all dignity while preserving crucial evidence, and ensuring rescue workers' safety.

Meanwhile, an online fundraising appeal launched overnight for the victims' families has already raised £3,000 of its £5,000 target.

The tragedy has touched locals, among them Mohamed Isaaq, who drives past the site every day on his way to work in Warwick.

The 42-year-old, who came to the UK two years ago from Finland and is originally from Somalia, said "it felt disrespectful just to pass on by".

He added that a rigorous investigation as to how the men died must be carried out.

Mr Isaaq said: "There should not just be talk about having an investigation, they should have a proper look.

"We are all human beings, and we must make sure that this can never happen again as it could happen to any of us."