According to the Tees Valley Combined Authority, the demolition, which used around 1.6 tonnes of explosives, is one of the largest of its kind ever to take place in the UK. Dramatic pictures of the 213ft Basic Oxygen Steelmaking (BOS) plant in Redcar being blown up emerged after Tees Valley mayor Ben Houchen pressed the button to detonate on Saturday morning. The plant shut down after 98 years in 2015 when SSI UK, which purchased the site in February 2011, was liquidated.