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| Cheshire flour mill explosion: Four missing workers named | Cheshire flour mill explosion: Four missing workers named |
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| Police have named four workers feared dead at a Cheshire wood mill which exploded into flames last week. | Police have named four workers feared dead at a Cheshire wood mill which exploded into flames last week. |
| Dorothy Bailey, 62; William Barks, 51; Derek Moore, 62; and Jason Shingler, 38, have not been seen since Friday’s blast which tore through Wood Flour Mills in Bosley, near Macclesfield. | Dorothy Bailey, 62; William Barks, 51; Derek Moore, 62; and Jason Shingler, 38, have not been seen since Friday’s blast which tore through Wood Flour Mills in Bosley, near Macclesfield. |
| A criminal inquiry could be launched if officials from the Health and Safety Executive find evidence of negligence. The mill’s owner, Wood Treatment Ltd, which is part of the Boden Group, has yet to make a statement regarding the explosions and fire that ripped through the four-storey building. | A criminal inquiry could be launched if officials from the Health and Safety Executive find evidence of negligence. The mill’s owner, Wood Treatment Ltd, which is part of the Boden Group, has yet to make a statement regarding the explosions and fire that ripped through the four-storey building. |
| The plant is said to have been producing wood flour – which is used as a low-density filler in a range of industrial processes – since 1930 and is thought to be the sole producer in the UK. There were fires on the site in 2012 and 2010. | The plant is said to have been producing wood flour – which is used as a low-density filler in a range of industrial processes – since 1930 and is thought to be the sole producer in the UK. There were fires on the site in 2012 and 2010. |
| Yesterday, Ms Bailey’s brother, Philip, was reported to have said that his sister was aware of the risks involved in working there. Derek Moore and Dorothy Bailey have been named as the workers feared dead after the mill explosion in Cheshire | |
| “I’m fearing the worst,” he told reporters at the scene. “She used to tell friends and family, ‘If it goes, it goes’. Dorothy was working in the main bit of the mill that’s gone. It was her job to suck the dust up with a big machine like a vacuum cleaner.” | “I’m fearing the worst,” he told reporters at the scene. “She used to tell friends and family, ‘If it goes, it goes’. Dorothy was working in the main bit of the mill that’s gone. It was her job to suck the dust up with a big machine like a vacuum cleaner.” |
| David Rutley, the Conservative MP for Macclesfield, said the blast would have a huge impact on the community and that “very important questions needed to be answered”. | David Rutley, the Conservative MP for Macclesfield, said the blast would have a huge impact on the community and that “very important questions needed to be answered”. |
| “It’s something that’s affected most people who live in the village because they all know somebody that works there … or worked there themselves,” he said. | “It’s something that’s affected most people who live in the village because they all know somebody that works there … or worked there themselves,” he said. |
| “There have been fires there before, and we need to work out how this tragic incident happened.” | “There have been fires there before, and we need to work out how this tragic incident happened.” |
| But Michael Jones, the leader of Cheshire East Council, said “nothing should be assumed”. Mr Jones said council enforcement officers had attended the site to “clear it up” two weeks ago after receiving complaints about sawdust, noise and pollution. He added that the council was working to rehouse six families whose homes had been destroyed by the blast. Jason Shingler and William Barks have been named as the workers feared dead after the mill explosion in Cheshire | |
| Yesterday morning a one-mile cordon remained in place around the building, which had contained heating oil, 5,000 litres of kerosene, acetylene gas and asbestos. Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service also confirmed that a silo containing highly flammable wood flour was still burning yesterday. | Yesterday morning a one-mile cordon remained in place around the building, which had contained heating oil, 5,000 litres of kerosene, acetylene gas and asbestos. Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service also confirmed that a silo containing highly flammable wood flour was still burning yesterday. |
| Witnesses described the former mill building as looking like “a collapsed shell”, with its wreckage strewn across a wide area. | Witnesses described the former mill building as looking like “a collapsed shell”, with its wreckage strewn across a wide area. |
| Water jets were continuing to send water to parts of the site that were still alight, and search teams, some who had worked on Japanese earthquake sites, made their way through the ruins. | Water jets were continuing to send water to parts of the site that were still alight, and search teams, some who had worked on Japanese earthquake sites, made their way through the ruins. |
| Yesterday morning, a prayer service was held at St Mary the Virgin church in Bosley. | Yesterday morning, a prayer service was held at St Mary the Virgin church in Bosley. |