A specialist team from the Health and Safety Executive was called in yesterday to head-up the investigation into the Belfast city centre building collapse, which injured six workers on Monday

The HSE promised that the investigation would be thorough and warned there would be a criminal prosecution it discovered health and safety laws had been breached.

A statement from the HSE said: "The investigation which will be painstaking and detailed will concentrate not only on identifying the cause of the collapse which occurred during a concrete pouring operation but will also look at any breaches of health and safety law with a view to taking forward a criminal prosecution.

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It said that a specialist team, comprising of members of its major investigation unit along with construction safety inspectors and consultant engineers will spearhead the investigation which may take a number of months to complete due to its complexity.

"On the day of the incident HSENI assisted the emergency services and made sure that appropriate action was taken to ensure the safety of the general public in the area.

"Since the incident inspectors have also been on site ensuring the clear up operation has been carried out safely and has not compromised any evidence."

Five of the injured workers were still in a stable condition in Belfast's Royal Victoria Hospital last night, while a sixth was discharged.

(VB/JM)