Supervisor of Didcot Power Station says "it is a miracle" more men were not trapped

A call from a colleague saved Mathew Mowat from being buried by the 10-storey steel and concrete structure along with three others.

The 49-year-old yesterday said it was "ridiculous" that his three fellow workers had not been recovered from the 30ft pile of rubble.

Christopher Huxtable and two men from Rotherham – named yesterday by police as Ken Cresswell, 57, and John Shaw, 61, – were on site while the building was being prepared for demolition two weeks ago when a 10-storey boiler house collapsed, killing one man and injuring five others.

Mr Mowat said yesterday: "I was just underneath boiler two and one of the other supervisors called me over. I went to talk to him, then there was this crash - I looked over my shoulder and saw the boiler coming down.

"We ran in self-preservation - then there was a loud bang and a massive cloud of dust, we couldn't see much for a few minutes.

"After, there were men walking out of the dust and they were black - some were very, very close to it.

"I was going up and down shouting 'no, no, no - there are guys under there'.

"There is all sorts going through your head. Every time I close my eyes I see those guys and just feel guilty that they are not home." 

Mr Mowat, from Sheffield, had been working with demolition company Coleman & Co for seven months.
He said they had been "working to instruction and drawings" from the engineers during the demolition process.

He added: "I feel guilty in not being under there with the guys and for coming home because they are still there left under that steel - it is ridiculous they are not out.

"When you go out to work you don't do it to not come home at the end of the day.

"There are quite a few people feeling blessed, including myself - and then feeling guilty and frustrated on not being able to get our friends out and sent home. 

"We all need closure on it, the guys and the families. We need to move forward and get them out - I would do it by hand if I could."

"It is horrible and not nice for their families at all. They must be pulling their hair out over it. We need to get the ball rolling and get them out and home."

Jade Ali, whose partner Mr Huxtable, 34, is believed to be under the rubble accused rescue teams of "giving up hope" in trying to find the men,
She said she was convinced they are still alive.

The 28-year-old from Swansea told WalesOnline: "We are disgusted by the behaviour of the Health and Safety Executive and the police.

"They have given up hope and they have no right to – they are acting like they are already dead and are telling us nothing. They have abandoned Christopher and they have abandoned us."

Emergency services admitted it could be many months before they find the missing workers due to fears the remaining half of the building could collapse.

Ms Ali has set up a petition which has more than 1,200 signatures demanding more to be done to get the men out. 

Assistant chief constable Scott Chilton said specialist teams were discussing about the safest way to continue and added by the end of this week, he hoped the wreckage could start being dismantled.

Force liaison officers met with the families last night for an update on the situation and said recovering the missing men was a priority.

Town vicar Revd Hannah Reynolds said: "At the moment the men are being described as missing so the families have not got any cause to give up on hope.

"It's a terrible, terrible tragedy and you do not start grieving before somebody has been declared dead. I can totally understand how she is reacting to it."

A spokesman for HSE said they understood the anguish the families are experiencing, adding they had to strike a "very difficult balance" between helping those trapped and avoiding further harm on the site.

RWE and Coleman & Co did not respond to the Oxford Mail's requests for comment.