Police appeal for help following fears for Vietnamese nationals in Oldham fire

Firefighters worked for four days to extinguish the fire at Bismark House Mill on Bower Street

Police have asked for the public's help following a suspicion that up to four Vietnamese nationals may have died in a fire at a mill in Oldham.

A major incident was declared yesterday, following reports that human remains were discovered at the weekend - two months after a fire destroyed the Bismark House Mill on Barry Street in May.

Speaking at the site, Assistant Chief Fire Officer for Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service Leon Parkes said: “When the fire service arrived at the scene they were met with a very serious fire, a well-developed fire, in the building.

“A decision was made at that time not to permit any firefighters into the building for two reasons – firstly, the fire was well-developed and was continuing to grow and, secondly, there was some concern about the structural stability of the building.

“We fought the fire over four days from the outside before handing the premises over.

"There was absolutely no information to detail if there was anybody in the building.  There were persons on scene at the time of the fire, and at no time was there any indication that there was anyone inside that building."

Reports that demolition workers had found human remains came on Saturday (23rd July) just days after a report that four Vietnamese nationals were missing.

Detective Superintendent Lewis Hughes, who is leading the investigation, said: "In parallel to the investigation that I'm leading to identify those involved, there's also an investigation into the circumstances to help determine what the mill was being used for at the time of the fire, and specifically what individuals we believe were present were doing in the mill at that time.

"So far we have found what we believe to be human remains that may be relevant to one person.

"But we are working under the hypothesis that the information we have suggests there maybe up to four people involved.

"There maybe more than four, or less than four, it is simply premature to tell."

Because of the previous involvement of the police, the incident has been referred to GMP's Professional Standards Branch for review.

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