Heartache for Didcot families goes on

Ken Cresswell (57) and John Shaw (61) have been missing since the plant collapsed on February 23.

Now, site owner RWE Npower has announced plans to bring the rest of the building down by controlled explosive demolition.

The firm said it would use a technique which would see the structure fall away from the existing pile of debris.

But Rotherham MP Sarah Champion questioned how the company could be certain the rest of the plant would not fall on the area where the three men are believed to be trapped.

She said: "The families really don't want the explosions to happen because we have no idea how the standing part of the building will fall.

"It's entirely possible that it will collapse onto their loved ones which will make it harder to find them.

"Last Monday RWE NPower didn't tell the families about the explosions and put out a press release. The families found out when the press rang them for a comment.

"I have never seen victims treated so badly as these families. They are being treated as an annoyance rather than as grieving families

"It's honestly like something from Dickens the way they are being treated. 

"This is three families that have lost their loved ones - it's horrendous."

RWE NPower said crews were working 12 hours a day, seven days a week, to find Mr Cresswell, from Clifton, Mr Shaw, from Kimberworth along with Christopher Huxtable, from Swansea, Wales.

But Ms Champion said there is a 50m ringfenced area around the remaining part of the building which has been deemed unsafe for the crews to work in.

She said: "That leaves quite a big area where they can't try to find the men. 

"We've been told the workers have got about another two to three weeks before they get to the point where they cant work because it is deemed as unsafe.

"The best-case scenario is that within two to three weeks they will have found the men."

A spokeswoman for RWE Npower said: "We are deeply aware that the ongoing recovery to find the missing men must be extremely painful for all the families.  

"That's why our contractors are working seven days a week, 12 hours a day, to ensure this is done as quickly as possible.

"We also understand that any potential work involving further explosive demolition on site causes distress for the families. 

"However, the recovery work can only be completed safely once the unstable standing structure has been brought down.

"Having explored other manual options, our experts have made it clear that the quickest and safest way to  bring the building down is by controlled explosive demolition, using a methodology such that it ensures the remaining structure falls away from the current debris pile."

Meanwhile, a new contractor will take over the recovery work at the site within the next month.

Demolition firm Brown and Mason will also clear the collapsed section of the boiler house and demolish the rest of the building.

It will replace Coleman and Company, which still has responsibility for demolition at the wider site.

In a statement, Coleman and Company said it was "hugely disappointing" it had to cease work at the site.

The company said: "We all wanted to recover our friends and colleagues and return them to their families."