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Cheshire flour mill explosion: Third body found amid search for four missing workers

Teams have been working non-stop to find William Barks, Dorothy Bailey, Jason Shingler, and Derek Moore, who have been missing since the explosion

Ian Leonard
Thursday 23 July 2015 10:27 EDT
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A third body has been been found in the search for four workers who've been missing since an explosion at a mill in Cheshire.

The workers became trapped when fire engulfed the Wood Flour Mill, in Bosley, on Friday, causing the four-storey building to collapse.

Fire and rescue teams have been working non-stop to find William Barks, 51, Dorothy Bailey, 62, Jason Shingler, 38, and Derek Moore, 62, who have been missing since the explosion. Three silos were removed at the site on 22 July and this led to the discovery of a third body, Cheshire Police said.

"Each agency has a wide range of expertise and are working hard together to find the missing people.

"In the meantime we are interviewing witnesses and gathering other evidence, all of which will form the investigation." Two other bodies were found, one on 19 July and one on 21 July, which have yet to be formally identified.

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

The mill, which made linoleum products out of wood ground down to a powder or flour, has been producing wood flour since 1930 and is the sole manufacturer in the UK.

In a statement, the site owner - Wood Treatment Ltd - said it was "shocked and saddened" by the explosion.

The families of the missing four workers were due to visit the site later on 23 July.

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