POLICE are investigating the circumstances which led to the death of a Widnes man who was killed after falling into an industrial shredding machine.
Following a post-mortem examination in the wake of the horrific incident - which took place in the early hours of November 24 at Delleve Plastics Ltd in St Helens - the cause of death was given as multiple crushing injuries.
But on Tuesday - more than 10 days after the death - police were still waiting for the body to be formally identified.
Two crews of firefighters and a rapid response team from Mersey Regional Ambulance Service rushed to the scene after a member of staff at Delleve raised the alert.
But they said nothing could be done to help the man as he was already dead upon their arrival.
Merseyside Police will only confirm at this stage that the man was 31 and a resident of Widnes. An inquest will be opened after the man's body has been formally identified. The police have teamed up with the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) in a joint investigation looking at the cause of the incident.
The HSE has stopped anyone using the equipment, which has variously been described as a shredder for plastics and paper or a packaging machine. The equipment will re-main off limits while forensic tests are carried out and while experts assess whether it is safe for further use.
An HSE spokesman said: 'The man died as a result of an accident involving an industrial shredder.
'The incident is now subject to an investigation, run jointly between the police and the health and safety executive.
'We attended the scene with a team of electrical and mechanical specialists who are employed to look for evidence and analyse the machine.
'We issued a 'notice to leave undisturbed' against the shredder and have also since used a 'notice of prohibition' to prevent the use of the machine until its safety can be ensured.
'The police are now collecting evidence.'
A spokeswoman for Merseyside Police said: 'There is no suggestion of suspicious circumstances.'
