Didcot collapse: ‘unlikely’ three missing people still alive

One person was killed and five others are in hospital after a concrete and steel building at the derelict Didcot A site in south Oxfordshire came down at around 4pm on Tuesday while it was being prepared for demolition.

A further 50 people were treated for dust inhalation while emergency crews with sniffer dogs worked into the night searching for the missing.

Dave Etheridge, Oxfordshire Fire and Rescue Service Chief Fire Officer, said today: “We have just spoken to the families who are obviously distraught.

“We have explained to them we have not picked up any signs of life but we are doing everything we can to locate their loved ones. It is highly unlikely they are alive.”

He said the operation “may take several days, possibly several weeks”, while Thames Valley Police Assistant Chief Constable Scott Chilton described those in hospital as “seriously injured, but not critical”.

‘Tragic’

Mr Chilton added: “This is a tragic event and we are doing all we can to support those families. The priority at this time is the recovery of the persons missing.”

A Health and Safety Executive spokeswoman said two investigators were called to the scene on Tuesday evening and were continuing to work with police.

A GMB union official said workers were preparing two boilers for demolition in the coming week, and that is believed to have led to the collapse of the building.

‘Tangled mess’

Witness David Cooke, whose company, Thames Cryogenics, has a building overlooking the power station, said: “Our building shook and, as we looked out of the window, the end of the main turbine hall collapsed in a huge pile of dust.

“It totally obscured the towers and must have drifted across the roads and main rail line. What’s left looks a tangled mess. The dust was hanging over the area for five to 10 minutes.”

Didcot A opened in 1970 as a coal-fired power station and was later converted so it could also generate power from natural gas.

It ceased generation in March 2013 and hundreds gathered to watch when three of its enormous cooling towers were blown up in July 2014 after dominating the town’s skyline for more than four decades.

The incident comes after a major fire struck a cooling tower at Didcot B in October 2014. The blaze affected 50 per cent of the station output, supplying a million homes.