Redcar Blast Furnace stoves demolished in explosion

Crews carrying out the demolition of the former blast furnace on the Teesworks site carried out the final explosive demolitions, after the majority of the site was brought down in November last year.

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The 40-metre structures of stoves one to four of the Redcar Blast Furnace were flattened in simultaneous explosions at around 9.30am.

Tees Valley Mayor Ben Houchen branded the final demolition “the close of a long history”.

He said: “The final blow down of the Redcar Blast Furnace marks the close of a long history of ironmaking on Teesside, but it now paves the way for the Net Zero Teesside project that will create thousands of jobs for local people and help put Teesside at the forefront of the global green industrial revolution.”

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An exclusion zone was in place while the demolition took place with a section of Gare Road closed from 8.30am until 10am.

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Teesside’s skyline has changed forever over the past year after a series of demolitions brought down all remains of the area’s steel-making past.

The Blast Furnace was shut down for the final time in 2015 with the loss of more than 2,000 jobs.

It was initially commissioned in 1979 and could produce 10,000 tonnes of iron a day.

See our pictures as the stoves came down on Wednesday:

Pictures by CHRIS BOOTH