Didcot power station: Pictures show scale of destruction after 'explosion' leaves one dead

Authorities have confirmed a building has collapsed in the defunct Didcot A part of the site

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

Pictures have emerged of the devastation caused by an explosion at Didcot power station in Oxfordshire.

One person has been confirmed dead with five others in hospital and three more missing.

The explosion happened at around 4pm as a building in the defunct Didcot A part of the site partially collapsed.

Casualties were taken to John Radcliffe Hospital for treatment which has asked local residents to avoid its emergency department wherever possible.

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

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

Five construction workers have been taken to hospital but three people are still missing (BBC News)

An aerial photograph from before the explosion (BBC News)

A major incident has been declared (Andrew Harvey/PA)

A GMB union official said the building collapsed when construction workers were preparing two boilers for demolition in the coming weeks.