LONDON—A British power station once voted one of the country’s ugliest sights has been mostly destroyed in a controlled demolition.
The scheduled demolition of the power plant’s old cooling towers in Didcot, 55 miles (90 kilometers) west of central London, was leveled early Sunday, Aug. 18.
The complex, including its massive towers and giant chimney—which is due to leveled later—was voted Britain’s third-worst eyesore by Country Life Magazine in 2003.
The plant has been out of commission since 2013 but plans to demolish it were delayed when four workers were killed on the site in 2016.
British media are reporting Sunday that an electrical explosion occurred around the same time as the demolition, knocking out power to homes in the surrounding area.
Shortly after the towers went down, onlookers say they saw a big flash—or spark—of light.
As you can see, the implosion of the towers caused the power lines to sway.
A planned demolition of a power plant’s unused cooling towers at the Didcot power station in the UK briefly disrupted power at 40,000 homes. https://t.co/2r3nxvOCra pic.twitter.com/lLyQOTOChc
— CNN (@CNN) August 19, 2019
40-thousand residents were left without power after the demolition.
The Power Plant Previously Partially Collapsed
In February 2016, the unused power station partially collapsed, killing four workers, the British emergency services said.
Power supplier Npower said part of the old power station collapsed while a demolition contractor was working on it. Witnesses told British media they heard a loud explosion.
South Central Ambulance sent six ambulances, two air ambulances and a hazardous response team to the site.
Some 50 people were treated for dust inhalation at the scene. The fire services said that although dust from the collapse covered a large area, there were no hazardous materials found within the building.
The CNN Wire contributed to this article.
