Factory blast victims are remembered ten years on

HUNDREDS of people have gathered to remember those killed in the Stockline factory explosion ten years ago.

Nine people died in the blast at the Glasgow plastics firm and 33 others were seriously injured.

Victims’ families, community members, politicians including Deputy First Minister Nicola Sturgeon and Scottish Labour leader Johann Lamont, and members of the emergency services attended a memorial service at Maryhill Community Central Halls.

A welcome address was given by Gary Gentles, the centre’s community development manager, followed by readings from former chief officer of Strathclyde Fire & Rescue Service Brian Sweeney, the Rev Paul McEwan, Father Euan Marley and local MSP Patricia Ferguson.

Mr Sweeney paid tribute to the community spirit shown after the blast and said that a colleague had told him that ‘Maryhill, in a smaller way, was Glasgow’s 9/11’.

Mr McEwan, who served in Maryhill at the time of the tragedy, said: ‘Our scars will always be with us but they don’t define us. We never forget but we can move on.’

A build-up of leaking gas from corroded underground pipes was to blame for the disaster.

A spokesman for factory owner ICL Plastics said: ‘Ten years have not diminished the sadness we feel in remembering our friends and colleagues who lost their lives.’