Glasgow: 'Our hearts go out to relatives,' says fire chief

A ninth body has been discovered in the rubble at the scene of the Glasgow plastics factory explosion, police said today.

The discovery was made by rescue workers searching the site of the Stockline plant which was destroyed by a blast on Tuesday.

Chief superintendent David Christie said: “I regret to advise you that the body of a man has just been recovered from the incident site.”

The search of the rubble will continue but emergency workers said they do not expect to find any more casualties.

Speaking shortly before midday – almost exactly 72 hours after the explosion - Mr Christie said the body of the man had been pulled from the rubble just moments before.

He said: “You will appreciate we are liaising closely with those relatives awaiting news. We are also waiting on an update from the fire service to tell us how their rescue operation is progressing.

“However, we believe at this stage it is unlikely that there is any other individual within the incident site.

“At this point I’d like to say our hearts go out to the relatives who have lost loved ones in this tragedy, and to those who have suffered injuries.”

It is understood the rescue team will now carry out an extended search of the remains of the collapsed building to further ensure no-one else is trapped underneath the debris.