Bosley Wood Treatment explosion – a potential crime scene

Rescuers searching for four people missing after an explosion devastated a mill have entered the site in what may become a recovery operation.

The four-storey Bosley Wood Treatment building collapsed after the blast on Friday.

Pockets fire are still burning while dogs are helping search for the three missing men and one woman.

Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service said they were working to protect what could be a crime scene.

The missing people were believed to have been in the building and near the seat of the explosion that ripped through the wood treatment works at around 9.15 am on Friday.

Chief fire officer Paul Hancock said: “There’s still hope but the longer the incident continues without knowing or locating these four individuals, it is looking more like a recovery than a rescue operation.

“Until we account for them there’s always hope.”

On Friday, 35 people were assessed at the scene with four people treated for breathing difficulties and another four people taken to hospitals in Birmingham, Merseyside and Stoke.

One 29-year-old woman sustained serious burns and injuries to her head, face, arms and chest.

Firefighters are continuing to use water to cool silos on the site and assess temperatures using thermal image cameras, a spokesman for the fire service said.

They will be working alongside Cheshire Police and the Health and Safety Executive to establish the cause of the blast, he added.

Macclesfield MP, David Rutley, said there was a really deep sense of shock.

“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.”

Fire crews described a scene of devastation when they arrived.

The building contained heating oil, kerosene, acetylene and asbestos. There are also two silos containing highly flammable wood flour used for making wood laminate flooring.

The fire service added: “Cheshire’s search dog Bryn and his handler have started initial work on part of the site with other search dogs en route to the site.

“Specialist equipment is being organised to move two vehicles near the factory which were badly damaged in the fire to improve access to the factory.”