Police have confirmed the three men were killed in a crash involving a van and a car on the B1248 between Wetwang and Norton, on the border of East and North Yorkshire, just after 6am on Wednesday November 27. Two other people, who were seriously injured in the crash, have been taken to hospital. The road was closed during the recovery operation.
Karro Food Group’s HR director Charles Pascall said: “We are extremely saddened to hear about the road accident this morning, in which three of our colleagues were fatally injured.
‘At this awful time’
“Our thoughts go out to their families at this awful time and we are offering support to those families and to the colleagues of those who died.
“We are assisting the police in any way possible with their inquiries into the cause of the incident.”
The police have appealed for witnesses – in particular the driver of a van. “Officers are appealing for the driver of a van to come forward, which was seen travelling along the B1248 towards Malton just after 6am and may have seen the vehicles immediately before the collision occurred,” according to a statement from North Yorkshire police.
‘A matter of urgency’
“The driver could be a vital witness to the incident and we urge them to come forward as a matter of urgency.” The driver and other witnesses are urged to contact North Yorkshire Police on 101 and pass information to the force control room.
The police are contacting the relatives of the deceased.
Reece Williams, from North Yorkshire Police, told BBC News: “The scene is quite a difficult one to be present at. There has been a small fire at the scene involving the vehicles and officers are dealing with it as sensitively as they can, given the circumstances.”
Local newspaper reports suggested the vehicles involved in the collision were a Ford Focus and a Citroen Relay van.
The Karro Food Group plant was formerly known as Malton bacon factory.
Meanwhile, one man died nine years ago when two coaches carrying workers to the factory crashed in icy conditions on the same road near Wetwang. After the accident, 10 people were treated for minor injuries at Hull Royal Infirmary.