Man's hand severed in horror accident
By Lisa CleverdonA CONSTRUCTION worker was in intensive care last night after his hand was severed in a horrific industrial accident.Firefighters tried to retrieve the man's hand after it fell to the bottom of an eight-metre pipe at the Branston Pickle factory in Bury St Edmunds, but were unable to find it, ending hopes of surgery to reattach it.
By Lisa Cleverdon
A CONSTRUCTION worker was in intensive care last night after his hand was severed in a horrific industrial accident.
Firefighters tried to retrieve the man's hand after it fell to the bottom of an eight-metre pipe at the Branston Pickle factory in Bury St Edmunds, but were unable to find it, ending hopes of surgery to reattach it.
The 28-year-old man, who works for Norfolk-based engineering contractors Van Elle, was part of a team of men working to rebuild the Mildenhall Road factory, which was badly damaged in a blaze last year.
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He was taken to West Suffolk Hospital, Bury St Edmunds, and a spokesman for East Anglian Ambulance Trust said he had remained conscious throughout the incident.
The Premier Foods factory was destroyed in October when a huge fire ripped through the building. Although most of the factory has been rebuilt, work is still going on to get it back up to full production.
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A spokesman for Van Elle Ltd declined to comment on the incident, which happened at just after 1.30pm yesterday, but confirmed an internal investigation had been launched.
The Health and Safety Executive said it would also be carrying out an investigation to determine the exact cause of the accident.
A spokeswoman for Suffolk Fire Service said officers had tried to flush water down the pipe to try to get the man's severed hand out. “They tried everything possible, but just couldn't reach it,” she added.
lisa.cleverdon@eadt.co.uk
