8/5/2009Stockline: 5 years on
FAMILIES who lost loved ones in the Maryhill factory disaster were gathering at mid-day for an emotional church service to mark the fifth anniversary of the tragedy.
Nine people died and 33 people were injured, many of them pulled from the rubble by rescue crews in the blast at the ICL/Stockline Plastics factory in 2004.
Following the service at St Columba's Church, close to the factory site, families were walking to a memorial garden which is dominated by nine standing stones - one for every life lost.
The anniversary comes while families still wait for answers following a public inquiry which ended in October.
Ian Tasker, assistant general secretary of the STUC, said he hoped families would be given an indication of when the public inquiry findings would be released.
He said: "This anniversary is significant as it is five years since the tragedy and the families are still awaiting the outcome.
"They have heard what may have caused the tragedy, but are still waiting for the final report and until they receive that, it will be very hard for them to actually move on."
Patricia Ferguson, Labour MSP for Maryhill, and Ann McKechin MP for the area, said they hoped the inquiry would lead to Scotland's workplaces becoming less dangerous.
In a joint statement, they said: "We hope that the outcome of Lord Gill's report into the circumstances of this incident, which the families campaigned for and contributed to, will be that workplaces in Scotland become safer."
The public inquiry was held at Maryhill's Community Central Hall and was set up to examine the circumstances of the blast and prevent a similar disaster.
Five years on, the tragedy is still every bit as painful for loved ones and survivors.
During the inquiry survivors relived the moment the Grovepark Street building came down.
David Andrews, a vacuum foreman, told the public inquiry he was alerted to the explosion by an "almighty crashing noise."
He was in a side building on the ICL site in Maryhill, which he said "shook."
Mr Andrews added: "Big sliding doors at the front of the building buckled.
"I ran outside and could not see anything for dust.
"Once it had settled I could see the man building had collapsed.
"I thought maybe a plane had hit the building. Then I saw the office building had fallen on to the factory roof."
Another witness, Gordon Bell, said he was in the factory’s coating shop just before midday.
"I heard a bang and whoosh. I was thrown forward and could feel things hitting me and landing on top of me. I was blown five to 10ft away,"he said.
A spokeswoman for ICL Plastics, said: "Time has not diminished the sorrow we all feel. Again, we remember those who lost their lives, and our foremost thoughts are with their families.
"We are confident that the important knowledge gained in the period since May 2004 will help to provide the answers to improve the safety of workplaces in the future."
Just last month a victim of the ICL factory disaster won an out-of-court settlement after suffering horrific injuries.
Lawyers acting on behalf of an injured victim said they had secured an undisclosed compensation sum in an out-of-court settlement on his behalf.
Falkirk-based firm Russel and Aitken said the victim's identity was not being revealed, but a spokesman said he had almost lost his life in the "devastating" accident.
The disaster occurred when petroleum gas vapours leaked from a corroded pipe and ignited, destroying the building and trapping workers under mounds of rubble.
ICL Plastics and ICL Tech, the companies responsible for operating the factory, were fined £400,000 in 2007 after a hearing at Glasgow High Court found them to have breached health and safety laws.