A devastating explosion at a plastics factory in Glasgow has injured dozens of people, and left others trapped under the rubble. Shirley English, left, reports from the scene.

"The force of the explosion was so strong that the three-storey factory building was reduced to a pile of splintered beams and twisted metal.

"Nearby flats and parked cars are covered in a thick blanket of dust, while the car park at the side of the plastics factory is filled with ambulances, fire tenders and digging equipment.

"Two huge green tents have also been erected, were the injured are being assessed and treated before being taken to hospital.

"Julie Walls, 46, was working on a check-out till at the Iceland store next door when the factory exploded. She said it turned black outside as a thick dust cloud blotted out the sun.

"Ms Wall said the police were on the scene almost immediately and staff were evacuated from the building, which was also damaged in the explosion.

"One factory employee told me that some of the factory workers were able to escape from the building through a small gap at the level of the factory floor.

"Some of the trapped used their mobile phones to contact the fire service after the blast. One even put a call in to the Daily Record.

"The fire service said those trapped were remarkably calm, although the condition of some was a serious concern.

"Those that are still trapped appear to have been in the offices upstairs, which have completely disappeared from view. I have heard that a meeting was being held in one of the upstairs offices.

"The police said the priority was to get those trapped out alive. Yet the building is so unstable that dozens of fire fighters are on standby and heavy equipment remains unused in the car park.

"The rescue services used heat-seeking equipment, microphones and sniffer dogs to locate those trapped, using the same techniques that would be employed for earthquake damage. But it still took the police an agonising hour and a half to locate the first of the workers still be trapped inside.

"I saw two people being removed from the rubble almost three hours after the explosion took place.

"Around 20 or 30 friends and relatives have gathered at a neighbouring community centre to hear news of their loved ones.

"One distraught lady arrived there with her 18-month-old granddaughter. She explained with tears in her eyes that her daughter was still unaccounted for."

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