Bosley mill explosion: Third body found

Will Barks, Derek Moore, Jason Shingler and Dorothy Bailey have not been seen since Friday

A third body has been found in the search for workers missing since a fire at a wood flour mill in Cheshire.

Police said a post mortem examination confirmed it was that of Derek Moore, 62, one of four missing mill workers.

The four were trapped in Friday's explosion and blaze, which caused the collapse of a four-storey building.

The remains were found at Wood Flour Mills in Bosley, near Macclesfield. The families of the missing gathered at a local church and visited the mill site.

Mill owners Wood Treatment Ltd said they were devastated at the deaths of their employees.

The firm, which is part of The Boden Group of Companies. also said: "The mill has been part of village life in Bosley for almost 90 years and we share the pain of the community.

"We have made contact with all four families and are discussing how best we can help them."

'Shocking magnitude'

Families of the missing workers gathered at Bosley Methodist Church, which is 300ft (90m) away from the mill inside a safety cordon, before visiting the site.

Kelvin Barks, whose brother Will is one of the missing workers, said after the visit: "It's shocking to see the magnitude of what has gone on there.

"I was just numb. You just could not believe... the fires are still burning and they have constantly got hoses out. It's colossal down there."

He added: "Basically, it's devastation really."

Police said Wednesday was a "significant day for action" at the site with the removal of three silos.

It allowed the search and recovery operation to access an area previously indicated by search dogs, where the body was found.

Efforts were continuing to locate the final body, police added.

The bodies found on Sunday and Tuesday were "probably" those of Will Barks, 51 and Dorothy Bailey, 62, police said.

Further forensic tests are required to corroborate their identification.

Search teams have described the scene as "complex and challenging"

Fellow worker Jason Shingler, 38, is also missing.

'Ongoing risk'

A joint investigation is under way between police, the fire service and the Health and Safety Executive to establish the cause of the blast.

Peter Crowcroft, from Cheshire Police, said: "Seeing the families here today has really brought it home for the rescue team.

"We knew the families were here and it brought home a sense of the operation and for us to do a thorough and professional job as quickly as possible."

The force earlier said the site was a "potential crime scene" and it would be a "long and detailed investigation".

Missing people

• Will Barks - A 51-year-old father from Leek who has been married for 31 years. Has a brother and sister and enjoys building motorbikes

• Dorothy Bailey - A 62-year-old grandmother who only began working at the factory a short time ago. She has three sons, five brothers and a sister

• Jason Shingler - A 38-year-old from North Rode who lives with his girlfriend Nicky and is described as a "kind-hearted" son and brother

• Derek Moore - A 62-year-old from Stoke-on-Trent who is married with a stepson and has two sisters and a brother

Paul Hitchen, from Urban Search and Rescue, said: "It's extremely dangerous and arduous for the rescuers, there's a massive amount of metal, concrete and brickwork which we need to move to continue the search.

"It's not possible to say yet when we will find the fourth body."

He added the scale of the incident was "unprecedented in this country in the last 10 years".

Temperatures reached 1,000C during the explosion and blaze, which caused the collapse of the four-storey building.

The site was also struck by fires in 2010 and 2012.

Wood is processed at the plant into a fine powder and the resulting "wood flour", with a consistency like sand, is used to make laminate flooring.

The explosion took place at Bosley, between Macclesfield and Congleton in Cheshire

The chapel is within the safety cordon and is just 100 metres from the wrecked mill.

A prayer service will take place at St Mary the Virgin Church in the village on Friday, a week on from the tragedy.

A notice said it would be held "one week on from the explosion that rocked our community".

At the scene: Mark Edwardson, BBC North West Tonight

Today's development brings the total number of bodies taken out of the site to three, and a fourth person is still missing.

Coincidentally, the families of those four people have been to the scene of the explosion this morning, to see how the investigation is progressing. They have also been to a small gathering at Bosley Methodist Church.

The mill's silos were demolished before the families arrived. There was a real danger they could have collapsed, and they were a risk to the rescue workers.

Today all you can see is a wisp of smoke in the valley to tell us that anything happened at all, but police have confirmed that this could become a homicide investigation.