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| Inquiry follows buildings blast | |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| An investigation has begun into an explosion which caused the collapse of two single-storey shops in Clydebank. | |
| The emergency services were called to the scene on Hawthorn street at about 0400 BST. | The emergency services were called to the scene on Hawthorn street at about 0400 BST. |
| Strathclyde Fire and Rescue said no-one was hurt but some residents had to leave their homes as a precaution. | Strathclyde Fire and Rescue said no-one was hurt but some residents had to leave their homes as a precaution. |
| A tanning salon and a hairdressers were completely destroyed and police said they were treating the site as a crime scene. | |
| A third building in the row of four single storey shops was severely damaged in the explosion. | |
| Gas engineers initially joined other emergency service workers at the scene but withdrew later in the day. | |
| There was shrapnel everywhere, all lying on the road and there was flames belching out of the shops John Paul McKinlayLocal resident | There was shrapnel everywhere, all lying on the road and there was flames belching out of the shops John Paul McKinlayLocal resident |
| A spokesman for Strathclyde Fire and Rescue said: "At the height of the incident several families were evacuated as a precautionary measure. | A spokesman for Strathclyde Fire and Rescue said: "At the height of the incident several families were evacuated as a precautionary measure. |
| "At this time there is no known cause for the explosion, but joint investigations have commenced though nothing exact will be known for some considerable time." | "At this time there is no known cause for the explosion, but joint investigations have commenced though nothing exact will be known for some considerable time." |
| Joe Gallagher, group manager of Strathclyde Fire and Rescue, added: "This is a busy road junction and it could have had serious consequences had it occurred at a later time when people were taking children to school." | Joe Gallagher, group manager of Strathclyde Fire and Rescue, added: "This is a busy road junction and it could have had serious consequences had it occurred at a later time when people were taking children to school." |
| Inspector Alistair MacDonald, from Strathclyde Police, said: "It's very lucky this happened at 4am as there were no passing pedestrians. It could have been a lot worse." | Inspector Alistair MacDonald, from Strathclyde Police, said: "It's very lucky this happened at 4am as there were no passing pedestrians. It could have been a lot worse." |
| Light shaking | Light shaking |
| Resident John Paul McKinlay was in his bed when he was woken by the explosion. | Resident John Paul McKinlay was in his bed when he was woken by the explosion. |
| He said: "I looked up and I seen my room light shaking back and forward. | He said: "I looked up and I seen my room light shaking back and forward. |
| "We thought it was actually a car bomb or somebody trying to ram raid the post office. | "We thought it was actually a car bomb or somebody trying to ram raid the post office. |
| "We went out and it was chaos, there was shrapnel everywhere, all lying on the road and there was flames belching out of the shops." | "We went out and it was chaos, there was shrapnel everywhere, all lying on the road and there was flames belching out of the shops." |
| Did you experience the explosion? Let us know what you saw and if you have pictures of the scene you can send them to newsonlinescotland@bbc.co.uk | Did you experience the explosion? Let us know what you saw and if you have pictures of the scene you can send them to newsonlinescotland@bbc.co.uk |
| I live around a mile and a half away from those shops. I was in bed reading early this morning when at around 3:45am - 3:55am I hear what sounded like a large firework going off, like the huge one you see at professional displays. It sounded as if it was pretty close and wondered who would set one off at that hour. Then at around 8:30am I heard about the explosion and realised that what I heard wasn't any firework!C Nicolson | I live around a mile and a half away from those shops. I was in bed reading early this morning when at around 3:45am - 3:55am I hear what sounded like a large firework going off, like the huge one you see at professional displays. It sounded as if it was pretty close and wondered who would set one off at that hour. Then at around 8:30am I heard about the explosion and realised that what I heard wasn't any firework!C Nicolson |
| We stay in the house which is pictured and we were awoken around 4 o'clock with a huge bang! It woke everyone up in the house and my husband and daughter ran outside to see what had happened. I phoned the emergency services thinking that it was a car crash. | We stay in the house which is pictured and we were awoken around 4 o'clock with a huge bang! It woke everyone up in the house and my husband and daughter ran outside to see what had happened. I phoned the emergency services thinking that it was a car crash. |
| It was only after I went outside that I noticed how much damage had been caused. | It was only after I went outside that I noticed how much damage had been caused. |
| Beforehand my daughter had said that she heard a loud whooshing noise before the explosion. The fire brigade and police arrived within minutes and now surrounding streets have been closed off. We didn't see the extent of the damage from where we live until we saw the picture and realised how bad it actually was. It is scary when I saw how far the debris had actually landed, it was about 25 to 30 feet away, so it must have been extremely powerful. | Beforehand my daughter had said that she heard a loud whooshing noise before the explosion. The fire brigade and police arrived within minutes and now surrounding streets have been closed off. We didn't see the extent of the damage from where we live until we saw the picture and realised how bad it actually was. It is scary when I saw how far the debris had actually landed, it was about 25 to 30 feet away, so it must have been extremely powerful. |
| I am just glad that it happened at that particular time because if it had occured in the early morning with children going to the neighbouring high school and people going into the shop for their morning papers, it would have been so much worse.Donna Newton | I am just glad that it happened at that particular time because if it had occured in the early morning with children going to the neighbouring high school and people going into the shop for their morning papers, it would have been so much worse.Donna Newton |
| I live a minutes walk from the shops which exploded. I was unable to take my usual route to work as Duntchoer road was blocked. I had a look at the shops after the explosion occurred around 8:30am and it looked like a scene from a Hollywood film. Fireman, policeman and thick smoke everywhere. It really is a blessing it occurred in the small hours as the parkhall shops is a very busy place. The sunbed shop (where the most damage has been done) is unrecognisable. Lisa Tait | I live a minutes walk from the shops which exploded. I was unable to take my usual route to work as Duntchoer road was blocked. I had a look at the shops after the explosion occurred around 8:30am and it looked like a scene from a Hollywood film. Fireman, policeman and thick smoke everywhere. It really is a blessing it occurred in the small hours as the parkhall shops is a very busy place. The sunbed shop (where the most damage has been done) is unrecognisable. Lisa Tait |
| It's a blessing that this happened in the middle of the night. My son attends Clydebank High School just round the corner. As well as the local residents going about their business, those shops are very popular with the kids, including my son, especially at lunchtime. This could have been a far greater disaster.Marion Syme | It's a blessing that this happened in the middle of the night. My son attends Clydebank High School just round the corner. As well as the local residents going about their business, those shops are very popular with the kids, including my son, especially at lunchtime. This could have been a far greater disaster.Marion Syme |