Deadly explosion at former UK power plant

A building has collapsed at a disused British power plant, killing one person and spreading dust over a large area.

At least one person has been killed and three others are missing after a building collapsed at a disused British power plant.

The incident occurred on Tuesday at the RWE npower Didcot A power plant, around 113 km 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," Oxfordshire Fire Service Area Manager Mat Carlile said in a statement.

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," RWE npower said in a statement.

"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 2 million households, closed down in 2013 after 43 years of operation.

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.


Share

2 min read

Published

Updated

Source: AAP



Share this with family and friends


Get SBS News daily and direct to your Inbox

Sign up now for the latest news from Australia and around the world direct to your inbox.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Download our apps
SBS News
SBS Audio
SBS On Demand

Listen to our podcasts
An overview of the day's top stories from SBS News
Interviews and feature reports from SBS News
Your daily ten minute finance and business news wrap with SBS Finance Editor Ricardo Gonçalves.
A daily five minute news wrap for English learners and people with disability
Get the latest with our News podcasts on your favourite podcast apps.

Watch on SBS
SBS World News

SBS World News

Take a global view with Australia's most comprehensive world news service
Watch the latest news videos from Australia and across the world