At least one person was killed and three others were missing after a building collapsed on Tuesday at a disused British power plant, the local fire service said.
The incident occurred at the RWE npower Didcot A power plant, about 113 km (70 miles) west of London. The plant closed in 2013 and was in the process of being demolished.
“I can confirm search operations are in progress and that there has been one fatality, five persons have been taken to hospital and three persons are currently missing,” said Oxfordshire fire service area manager Mat Carlile.
Residents told local media there had been a large rumble, prompting reports there had been an explosion. Television pictures showed half a large building at the site appeared to have collapsed.
However, emergency services said they were treating the incident as a building collapse and although dust had spread over a considerable area, there had been no hazardous materials inside.
“There has been an incident at our former Didcot A Power Station site,” said RWE npower. “The site is currently being demolished. We are working with our contractors Coleman and Company to establish the facts.“
Didcot A, a dual-fired power station which could produce enough power for two million households, closed in 2013 after 43 years in service.
In 2014, a fire broke out at Didcot B, an operational gas-fired power plant on the same site. No one was hurt but one of two power generation units had to be taken offline.
‘Not an explosion’
Emergency services were called at 4pm to the site in south Oxfordshire amid reports of an explosion.
Rodney Rose, deputy leader of Oxfordshire County Council, told the Oxford Mail: “I have been told there has been one fatality, but the rest is currently unknown. The fire service is there now and we are still trying to find out if this was a demolition.”
Mr Rose, who sits on a committee responsible for Thames Valley Fire Service, added: “At the moment this is being treated as a collapsed building, not an explosion but there was a bang.”
Six ambulances and two air ambulance have been sent to the scene, said South Central Ambulance Service.
The plant closed in 2013 and hundreds gathered to watch when three of its enormous cooling towers were demolished.
More demolition work at the site was under way.
David Cooke, whose company Thames Cryogenics have 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.
“First thought was it didn’t looked planned, followed by the thought that people are going to have been hurt.”