Rescuers worked through the night in the hope of finding survivors in the rubble of a Glasgow plastics factory after an explosion yesterday which left at least four people dead and dozens injured, write Gerard Seenan and Kirsty Scott in Glasgow
Strathclyde fire brigade said it was in contact with five people trapped in the wreckage of the Stockline Plastics factory, who they believed they could get out alive.
Officials could not say how many other people were trapped, but it was feared they had not heard from at least five other people beneath the rubble.
The blast ripped through Stockline Plastics in the west end of the city just after noon yesterday, destroying most of the factory.
Investigations were under way last night. Factory workers said one or more of the factory's four industrial ovens had exploded without warning.
At least 16 people were trapped in the wreckage. Most were believed to have been office workers who were above the blast. Many of the workers on the factory floor managed to crawl out of the debris.
After a major rescue operation involving 200 firefighters and specialist earthquake rescue teams, Strathclyde firemaster Mr Brian Sweeney said last night that six survivors had been pulled from the rubble.
He likened the scene to an earthquake "in Turkey or Afghanistan". Dogs trained in rescues and their handlers were also being taken to the scene in an RAF Sea King helicopter last night.
The wreckage of the building is highly unstable and Mr Sweeney said the rescuers faced an arduous, dangerous and difficult task. Efforts were being concentrated on two pockets beneath the rubble where they knew survivors were trapped.
"They're in various states of ability to talk, some are injured, some are badly injured, some are in shock, some will be traumatised, and so we're having as much decent dialogue as we can with them, trying to comfort and reassure them and offer support under what must be very traumatic circumstances," Mr Sweeney said.
Strathclyde police said 37 people were confirmed as injured in the blast and 16 were in a serious condition in hospitals across Glasgow.
Around 10 of those trapped were understood to have been holding a meeting on one of the factory's upper floors when the explosion occurred.
Last night they were believed to be trapped in the ground floor of the building. The explosion caused the roof of the four-storey building, in the Maryhill area of the city, to collapse.
Factory worker Mr Daniel Gilmore said: "I don't know how I got out of the building, it collapsed on top of us." - (Guardian Service)