Search for missing Rotherham men after Didcot collapse '˜to start by weekend'

Didcot Power Station in Oxfordshire following the collapse of decommissioned A plant on February 23.

Ken Cresswell, aged 57, and John Shaw, aged 61, are missing following the collapse of the power station being prepared for demolition.

The two South Yorkshire men and Chris Huxtable, from Swansea, remain missing following the power station collapse on February 23, which killed Mike Collings, 53.

Families of the missing men have been angered by delays in starting recovery attempts but site owner Npower RWE has now presented a plan to the Health and Safety Executive and Thames Valley Police to commence work on the site.

A spokesman for the HSE said: “RWE has today presented a plan to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) and Thames Valley Police (TVP) to commence work on the collapsed debris, ready to recover the missing men.

“Starting today, large equipment and people will be arriving on site to start work to enable the recovery operation to resume at the weekend, sooner if possible

“Progress with the plan over the coming days will be closely monitored by HSE and TVP.

“Our priority remains the recovery of the missing men so they can be returned to their families and to understand what caused this incident. Specialist officers from Thames Valley Police continue to support the families and are providing them with regular updates on the progress of this work.”

It comes after Rotherham MP Sarah Champion said there had been ‘shameful’ delays in getting the recovery process under way.