Didcot Power Station: At least one death confirmed and several injured after 'explosion'

At least one person has been killed and further casualties are feared after an explosion at Didcot Power Station.

Emergency services were called just after 4pm to reports of the blast and a "major incident" has been declared.

One person has been confirmed dead, while five people are injured and three are missing.

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.

“At the moment this is being treated as a collapsed building, not an explosion, but there was a bang.”

Nathan Travis, deputy chief officer for Oxfordshire Fire and Rescue said five construction workers are in hospital and three people are missing.

Thames Valley Police confirmed they were in attendance following an "incident".

A "major incident" has been declared by South Central Ambulance Service and casualties have been confirmed.

Six ambulances and two air ambulance have been scrambled to the scene.

Pictures circulating on Twitter show half of Didcot Power Station A has collapsed.

Witnesses reported hearing a loud blast before seeing a huge cloud of ash and dust.

Dave Cooke, sales manager at Thames Cryogenics, based across the road from the site, told the Oxford Mail: “We heard a rumble at about 4pm. We then looked out the window and half the power station turbine hall had blown down.

"It was just like last time they took it down (when the cooling towers were demolished). Half the side of the building has come down. Then there was dust everywhere and obscured the whole of the power station. It then drifted across the railway.

“We had to close the windows because of the smell coming in.

“You would not have expected them to do it at this time. The road there is busy with the amount of traffic so you wouldn’t do it now.