Sheffield Wednesday release statement on response time after West Brom fan death at Hillsborough
Sheffield Wednesday have released a statement defending their response time after West Brom fan Mark Townsend died at Hillsborough on 28 September.
Albion fans are adamant that it took at least 10 minutes for Mr Townsend to receive medical care from staff at Hillsborough and for a defibrillator to reach him in the Leppings Lane stand. He was cared for by a fellow Baggies supporter and an off-duty paramedic before on-duty medics arrived.
West Brom supporters who were at the game were incredibly distressed not only by the tragedy that occurred right in front of them but also by the home team’s failure to respond quickly.
But Sheffield Wednesday have now released a statement to say that only three minutes passed between their control room becoming aware of the situation and for medics to arrive on the scene.
As quoted by the Express & Star on Sunday morning (6 October), the Owls said: “First and foremost, the thoughts of everyone at Sheffield Wednesday remain with the loved ones of Mr Townsend and the wider West Bromwich Albion community. All relevant parties continue to collectively gather the detail and circumstances regarding the tragic incident last Saturday as part of the ongoing review process.
Sheffield Wednesday defend response time after West Brom tragedy
“In the interim, without compromising the review, it can be confirmed that advanced paramedic care was at the scene applying emergency treatment within three minutes of the control room being notified, just over one minute after the nearest steward was alerted. The club will cooperate fully with any investigation that the coroner may instigate and we await the findings of the review process, which will be concluded in due course.
“We can assure every supporter visiting Hillsborough that the club engage medical provision over and above the Green Guide guidance. Sheffield Wednesday reiterate our sincere condolences to the family and friends of Mr Townsend and everyone connected with West Bromwich Albion.”
Of course, Sheffield Wednesday’s initial review suggests a much faster response time compared to what hundreds of supporters in the away end have all consistently reported on social media.
At the time of writing, the South Yorkshire club have not posted their statement on their official club website, nor have they uploaded it onto their official X and Facebook pages while local newspaper The Star has turned off the ability for X users to reply to their post about the statement.
West Brom paid tribute to Mark ahead of Tuesday night’s match against Middlesbrough.
He died aged 57 and his brother Steve is now calling for a full inquiry to be held about what happened at Hillsborough last month [BBC News].