AWE Aldermaston: Worker dies after nuclear site incident

Emergency services were called to the Aldermaston campus on Thursday evening

A construction worker has died following an incident on a building site at a nuclear weapons plant.

The 57-year-old man was injured at the Atomic Weapons Establishment (AWE) at Aldermaston, Berkshire, on Thursday evening.

The Balfour Beatty worker was airlifted to hospital and later died, police said.

The Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR) said it had launched an investigation with Thames Valley Police.

In a statement, ONR said: "We were informed about a serious construction incident at the Atomic Weapons Establishment Aldermaston site on 6 July, which has resulted in a construction worker fatality."

AWE said the incident did not involve nuclear installations or materials but declined to give details of the construction project.

A spokesperson for Balfour Beatty said: "A serious incident occurred on our AWE Aldermaston site on 6 July 2023. As a result of the incident, a colleague has tragically lost their life.

"Our deepest sympathies are with our colleague's family, friends and co-workers at this time.

"Works have since stopped as we support the authorities with their investigation."

AWE became a non-department public body wholly owned by the Ministry of Defence in July 2021.