Didcot A power station demolished

Search to recover bodies of the three missing men to resume

THE search for the three men killed when Didcot A power station collapsed is set to resume after the remaining half of the boiler house was demolished this morning.

The giant structure was brought down in just a matter of seconds with a controlled explosion at around 6am as part of the recovery operation.

Site owners RWE have now said the search for the men could resume as early as this afternoon.

The bodies of Christopher Huxtable, Ken Cresswell and John Shaw have been missing since February when half of the boiler house collapsed.

The body of Michael Collings was recovered shortly after.

The men had been preparing the decommissioned power station for an earlier planned demolition.

Road closures were in place for the duration of the demolition this morning while police have reassured residents that airborne dust from the site is not harmful but could cause a nuisance.

A statement from Thames Valley Police read: "The controlled explosive demolition of the remaining structure took place this morning with all of the remaining structure being brought down successfully.

"An inspection will now take place to confirm the area and debris pile is safe, and the recovery operation will resume.

"As part of the recovery operation, the site owners RWE, Brown & Mason and Alford Technologies were responsible for the remaining structure being brought down safely."

Picture and video credit: BBC