On the day of the explosion, the same witness observed the troops loading the ammunition only this time "they were practically throwing them" into the rail wagons.

What remains of their bodies are buried in four graves in the churchyard of St Mary's Church, Hornby, which is 5 miles (8 km) to the south-west.

[8] Initially, due to their proximity to the centre of the explosion, their remains were not found, and three days later the Northern Despatch newspaper still listed them as being among the missing.

[10][11][12] An inquest was held on the Saturday following (5 February 1944) on the eight identified dead casualties and a British Army report into the disaster was also convened, but due to wartime restrictions, its findings were not released to the inquiry or to the public at that time.

[1] Various theories had been suggested, such as sabotage by Italian prisoners of war, and a bitumen furnace that spilled out hot coke from its chimney which was located close to the blast.