The devastating collapse of a massive steel boiler tower at a decommissioned thermal power plant in Ulsan, South Korea, continues to underscore the extreme risks inherent in preparing large structures for demolition. As the search for two missing workers entered its fifth consecutive day on Monday, rescue teams and demolition professionals faced the highly complex…Read moreRead more
Accident
At least three dead in Korean collapse
Didcot – A decade of dawdling
As we prepare to mark the 10th anniversary of the catastrophic collapse at the Didcot power station – a disaster that claimed the lives of four demolition workers – the time has surely come for the industry to confront a troubling reality. Six years ago, DemolitionNews reported on a Thames Valley Police prediction that the…Read moreRead more
P.P. O’Connor responds
Manchester-based P.P. O’Connor has issued an official statement on the partial building and scaffold collapse that occurred in the city centre on Friday afternoon. The statement reads: “On Friday 24th October at approximately 2.00 pm, we had a structural collapse at a site in Manchester, this follows encountering an un-foreseen structural failure associated with a…Read moreRead more
Manchester collapse sparks deja vu
The breaking news yesterday was stark: a major scaffold collapse at Alberton House in Manchester, which sent a tangled mess of steel tumbling into the River Irwell. For industry veterans, the images from Manchester carried a disturbing echo of the past, bringing back stark memories of a crisis that was supposed to have changed things…Read moreRead more
Will we never learn?
There was a school shooting in America yesterday. Another one, I hear you sigh. This wasn’t the first school shooting this year. It is highly unlikely that it will be the last. In fact, these things happen with such agonising regularity that there is now a process in place. We send thoughts and prayers to…Read moreRead more
Nine years ago today…
On 22 August 2016, nine years ago today, I walked onto a UK demolition site; something I had done hundreds of times before, and have repeated hundreds of times since. That visit took place exactly six months after the Didcot Disaster claimed the lives of four demolition workers. Safety was at the forefront of my…Read moreRead more
Firm fined over worker fall
Industry news portal The Construction Index is reporting that a demolition company has been fined more than £40,000 after a worker was injured on a site in Aberdeen in 2023. Lawrie (Demolition) Limited – a member of the National Federation of Demolition Contractors – admitted breaching safety regulations when working as principal contractor on the…Read moreRead more
Cottam probe underway
The BBC is reporting that an investigation is underway following an incident at Cottam Power Station, which is being demolished by Brown and Mason. Cottam Power Station, near Retford in Nottinghamshire, closed on 30 September 2019 with its demolition ongoing. East Midlands Ambulance Service (EMAS) confirmed on Friday it deployed an ambulance and three paramedics…Read moreRead more
Demolition Collapse, Glasgow
DemolitionNews has received news and a raw amateur video of an uncontrolled demolition collapse at Anderston Quay, Glasgow. Reports suggest that several cars ave been damaged in the incident. DemolitionNews is not aware of any injuries at this time. Scottish newspaper the Daily Record has more details here.
A family’s struggle for justice
On the fifth anniversary of a tragic demolition accident, we share a poignant letter from Magi, sister of John Mackay, who was killed alongside Tommy Williams. The letter highlights the lack of support and compassion from Nationwide Platforms post-tragedy, along with frustrations with the police and judicial processes. Despite some updates from the HSE, the…Read moreRead more
