Didcot power station: ‘Highly unlikely’ missing three are still alive after desperate search

A tribute reads: 'Rest in peace. To a hardworking soul. From a Didcot resident. Thoughts of those injured and those missing'

It is “highly unlikely” three people missing after part of a power station collapsed in Didcot are alive, emergency services have said.

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.

Drones and sniffer dogs are being used in the search for the three demolition workers in Oxfordshire but fire officials added they have not “picked up any clear signs of life”. A further 50 people were treated for dust inhalation while emergency crews worked into the night searching for the missing - although the operation could take "several days".

Dave Etheridge, Oxfordshire Fire and Rescue Service Chief Fire Officer, said: "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.

He added: "It is highly unlikely the three missing people are still alive.

“We have tried the construction site radios and had no response and we this as significant.”

A solitary floral tribute left at the scene reads: "Rest in peace. To a hardworking soul. From a 'Didcot' resident. Thoughts of those injured and those missing."

Oxfordshire Assistant Chief Fire Officer Simon Furlong said to reporters outside the police cordon earlier today: "The remainder of the building is very unsafe, which is hampering the search. 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.

"An expert from Cheshire with similar experience is due on site today to advise on the search.

"The police will be taking over control of the site as part of ongoing investigation but we are continuing working with fire services from Buckinghamshire, Hampshire and the West Midlands, and this work may continue for several days."

A cordon has been placed around the scene as the rescue 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.

A still taken from ITV News footage showing the scene at Didcot power station following the explosion (ITV News)

"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 the 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.

Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust statement said: "We are grateful to members of the public for avoiding attending our Emergency Department for anything other than serious or life-threatening emergencies."

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.

Smoke rising from Didcot power station in Oxfordshire where a 'major incident' has been declared (Blaine Morris-Smith/PA)

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

Additional reporting by Press Association