THE chief fire officer for Oxfordshire today said finding the three missing people in the Didcot power station disaster was top priority.

Nathan Travis of Oxfordshire Fire and Rescue Services said earlier this afternoon: "We continue to work with Thames Valley Police to keep families informed of our progress on the site.

"This will continue through the weekend. Our priority remains to recover those missing. The site remains extremely unstable and so the safety of the teams working on site has to be our first consideration.

"We are working very closely with structural experts on the site. We continue to anticipate that this exercise will be prolonged and difficult.

"We extend our deepest sympathies to the man who has died and our thoughts remain with the families of those missing."

"I would like to reassure the public there were no hazardous materials within the building."

Following the collapse of part of the power station on Tuesday, emergency services have constantly been at the scene trying to locate three missing workers.

One man, Michael Collings died in the tragedy, and five others were taken to hospital.

His family paid tribute to the "much-loved" father and grandfather in a statement released today. 

Books of condolence were opened today at Didcot Civic Hall for the victims of the Didcot power station disaster.

Town mayor Des Healy was the first person to sign the book of condolences, which is open for anyone to write their message to the families affected.

Local residents of Didcot are urged to consider keeping their doors and windows closed to avoid dust should there be any further collapse of the building.

Thames Valley Police assistant chief constable Scott Chilton said: "I cannot imagine what this must be like for the families of the three missing people.

"The police are continuing to do everything we can to recover their loved ones and will continue to support the family during this terrible time."

South Central Ambulance Service remains on site to deal with any recovered casualties.