Image: Thames Valley Police
Two years on from the Didcot power station collapse, which killed four workers, police say the investigation into the tragedy is still ongoing and is “almost unprecedented” in scale. No date has yet been given for its likely completion.
The joint Thames Valley Police (TVP) and Health and Safety Executive (HSE) probe is continuing to question witnesses to the tragedy in February 2016.
TVP assistant chief constable Jason Hogg said the force was investigating “corporate manslaughter, gross negligence manslaughter and serious Health & Safety at Work Act (1974) offences” in relation to the accident.
“This is a highly complex and almost unprecedented investigation in terms of scale and the volume of evidence that has been collected so far,” he added.
“To give some context to the scale of this investigation, so far over 1,900 statements have been taken from witnesses and a number of individuals and companies have been interviewed under caution, with each interview taking hours at a time.
“Many of the witnesses and those who have been interviewed under caution, are likely to be re-interviewed.
“On-site evidence recovery continues to understand why the boiler house collapsed, so far evidence has been collected from boilers 1 and 2, and we continue to gather evidence from boilers 3 and 4.
“The four boilers weighed around 15,000 tonnes each, and so far we have gathered evidence from around 50,000 tonnes of that material. We have collected over 1,600 exhibits from the boiler houses and we are working with a total of over 3,900 exhibits, but this figure continues to increase.
“Thames Valley Police continues to have dedicated team on site, supported by the Health and Safety Executive, and a police scene guard remains at the site which is still a crime scene.”
HSE chief inspector of construction Peter Baker said: “The incident at Didcot was unique and the investigation is highly complex, both in scale and nature and therefore will take time to conclude. HSE has a dedicated team of inspectors, specialists, engineers, scientists and support staff working very closely with the police on this joint investigation.
“This investigation will find out if any criminal offences have been committed.”
Coleman, the contractor on the Didcot site at the time of the collapse, issued a statement to mark the second anniversary of the tragedy, saying: “Our thoughts today on the second anniversary of the tragedy at Didcot Power Station are with Chris, John, Kenny and Mick, their families and all those who continue to suffer the pain and hurt from that horrendous day.
“The team at Coleman & Company will be taking time out today to remember their colleagues. We remain committed to learning the lessons of 23 February 2016, and reinforce our commitment to share those learnings with the families and the demolition community as soon as possible.
“We pledge, as we did at the time, to never forget our lost friends. But we know that words can never be enough to heal the grief.”
