Didcot Power Station collapse: No clear signs of life in search for three missing people, say emergency crews

John Dunne @jhdunne24 February 2016

Emergency crews searching for three people missing after part of a power station collapsed said they “haven’t picked up any clear signs of life” overnight.

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 yesterday 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 - although the operation could take “several days”.

Oxfordshire Assistant Chief Fire Officer Simon Furlong said: “It is still a rescue operation at the moment.

“We have three dog teams on site working overnight, but we haven’t picked up any clear signs of life.

Wreckage: A view of the damage caused by the incident
PA

“We are continuing to search and locate the missing persons and we are working hard with the other agencies.”

Mr Furlong said the operation was being hampered because of safety concerns.

He said: “This is a very difficult situation with a very unstable structure.

“The safety of emergency service personnel has to remain our priority, while recognising how hard this must be for families waiting for news of loved ones overnight. Our sympathies are with them, and the family of the person who died here yesterday.”

A 100m cordon has been placed around the scene as the operation continues.

Deputy Chief Fire Officer Nathan Travis described the site as “challenging”.

He said: “The building is potentially 10 storeys high; half of that building has collapsed, so you have got a rubble pile which is approximately 20 to 30 feet deep at the moment.

“The search will be considerable due to the instability of the site; we expect the search to continue throughout the night and possibly into the coming days.”

Asked about the chances of finding those missing alive, he replied: “At the moment I can’t give you any details on that but it is a substantial collapse of a building.”

Pictures from the scene showed a significant chunk of a building in the defunct Didcot A site has collapsed, with a large amount of debris on the ground.

A Health and Safety Executive (HSE) spokeswoman said two investigators were continuing to work with police.

Explosion: Pictures of dust rising up after the collapse
Blaine Morris-Smith

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 16 months after a major fire struck a cooling tower at Didcot B in October 2014.

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