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Too Dangerous To Search For Didcot Victims

The operation to recover the bodies of the three men who died in the Didcot power station collapse has been halted.

Ken Cresswell, 57, and John Shaw, 61, both from Rotherham, and 34-year-old Chris Huxtable from Swansea, have been missing since an iron and steel structure came down at the south Oxfordshire site in February.

The company in charge of the site, RWE Power, says it is too dangerous to continue efforts to find them.

In a statement, the firm said: "Since the tragic accident at our Didcot site we have been doing everything possible to locate and recover the missing men as quickly and as safely as possible.

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"Our contractors have now reached the 50m safety exclusion zone, which is in place as the remainder of the structure is currently considered unstable.

"Sadly, this means that, until the remaining standing structure can be safely brought down, we have restricted access to the recovery area.

"We understand that the time it is taking to recover these men is deeply distressing for their families, and we are in contact with them.

"Our absolute priority is to recover their loved ones as quickly and as safely as possible."

Mr Huxtable's mother, Sandra, told Sky News: "You are on hold every minute of your life because you are waiting for that phone call to say they have found Chris, but now we will not have that phone call.

"Give them some dignity and get these men out. There will be nothing left of them."

Workers had been getting the building ready for demolition when the collapse of Didcot A happened, killing four men.

The body of 53-year-old Mick Collings from Teeside has already been recovered from the site.

Five other people were injured and more than 40 others were treated for dust inhalation.

Didcot A ceased operation in March 2013 after more than 40 years of generating power for the area.

Didcot B, a natural gas plant which provides power to the National Grid, is still functioning and has not been affected by the collapse.