Men who died in slurry tank named

It was still unknown why workers were on top of the tank

The three men who died in a slurry tank in Norfolk have been named by police.

Graham Morris, 54, Timothy Bartrum, 46, and 28-year-old George Barnes died on Monday morning after an accident on farm land at Great Hockham.

All three men who worked at Thetford company Enviro-Waste Ltd, were pronounced dead at the scene of the incident off the A1075.

Their bodies had been recovered from a 12ft high tank of slurry at the site where they had been working.

A fourth man, Daniel Willimott, 28, of the Thetford area, was taken to the West Suffolk Hospital, Bury St Edmunds, as a precaution but later released.

Divers called in

A joint investigation into the tragedy has been launched by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) and Norfolk Police.

It is thought that one of the men fell into the 12ft tank and the other two followed as they tried to help him.

Mr Bartrum, of Thetford, leaves an ex-wife and two sons, aged 17 and 15.

Mr Morris, who also lived in Thetford, leaves a wife, two sons aged 25 and 31, and a daughter, aged 29.

Mr Barnes, who lived in Brandon, leaves a fianceé.

The HSE called in police divers on Tuesday to aid the investigation which could take month.

'Shocked and saddened'

An HSE spokeswoman said: "We cannot yet be 100% certain what exactly was in the tank, how long it had been there and what kind of gases had been created.

"We are also not yet sure what the men were doing on the tank."

A statement from the Enviro-Waste on Monday said the loss of three highly-valued staff had shocked and saddened the company.