Stockline Plastics factory explosion

[2] The first service to attend were a Patient Transport Ambulance crew who took the decision to divert straight to the scene because they were so close at the time of the explosion.

This initial crew saved dozens of lives by taking control of the evacuation and pulling the injured to safety.

Fire crews used specialist search-and-rescue equipment, including sniffer dogs, carbon dioxide detectors (which detect the respired carbon dioxide of trapped persons), thermal-imaging equipment, and fibre-optic cameras to search for people trapped in the collapsed building.

The volunteer group International Rescue Corps, who specialise in travelling to the site of earthquakes and helping locate survivors, sent eleven of its Scottish members to the scene.

One firefighter was taken to hospital after being overcome by fumes, and several were stricken by heat exhaustion while labouring in the hot and humid conditions.

[3] After the fourth day, Strathclyde Police had named the deceased as Annette Doyle (32), Peter Ferguson (52), Thomas McAulay (41), Tracey McErlane (27), Ann Trench (34), company directors Stewart McColl (60) and Margaret Brownlie (49), Kenneth Ronald Murray, (45), and Timothy Smith (31).

[4] With the recovery of Mr. Smith's body from the site on 14 May, Strathclyde Fire Brigade announced that they believed no hope of recovering live victims remained.

The Grovepark Fund, established to help the families of those killed and injured in the blast, received a boost when the departing Celtic F.C.

star, Henrik Larsson, announced that the shirt he wore in his farewell match against Seville on Tuesday would be auctioned in aid of the appeal.

The company was accused of: The original hearing date of 12 December 2006 was postponed as "The timescale that the defence solicitors have been afforded for their preparation of the case has been significantly less [than the Procurator Fiscal's]".

As well as being critical of the companies involved, it noted failings by the Health & Safety Executive's supervision and inspection regime.

The Report contained various recommendations relating to proper safety protocols concerning the storage and use of liquid petroleum gas.