PAIN etched on their faces, the relatives of the Maryhill blast victims stood in silent contemplation. Some wept as they looked at the scene of devastation where their loved ones had died – and spoke to the rescue workers trying to save those still trapped beneath the rubble.

Floral bouquets were laid at the scene in tribute to those who died when the ICL Plastics building collapsed.

Robert Lowre, a cousin of Tracey McErlane – who was confirmed as a blast victim yesterday – said the family were overwhelmed by their loss.

“Tracey was just 27 and had given birth to a lovely wee girl seven months ago,” he said. “The whole family is devastated and Tracey’s mum, Margaret, is shattered. It’s hard to believe this has happened and it’s just a complete tragedy.”

On Tuesday, Tracey’s mother had stood outside the ICL/Stockline building in Maryhill with tears staining her face. She said: “I am waiting on word of my lassie – she’s in it.”

Yesterday, she and her husband, Arthur, who lived with Ms McErlane in the Possilpark area of Glasgow, had their worst fears confirmed when their daughter was named as one of the seven dead. Police family liaison officers who spent the day with them said they were “absolutely devastated by their loss”.

A neighbour, Paul Creigen, 38, said the community had been rocked by her death. He said: “It is an absolute tragedy. Tracey just had a wee baby, who is not even walking yet. It is so sad.

“I spoke to her three sisters and they are all devastated and her father, Arthur, is in a right state. Tracey was a lovely girl – I believe she worked on the administration side of things at the factory.”

By 8pm last night, police had named all the victims. They were: Ms McErlane; Margaret Brownlie, 49, a director of the company, from Strathaven; Ann Trench, 34, from Colston, Glasgow; Peter Ferguson, 52, from Kilbarchan, Renfrewshire; Annette Doyle, 24, from Crowhill Street, Glasgow; Thomas McAulay, 41, from Somerville Drive, Mount Florida, Glasgow; and James McColl, 60, from Halfway, West Kilbride.

Mr McColl, the company’s chief executive, was in a meeting in the conference room on the top floor when the explosion occurred.

His daughter, Sheena is believed to have had a leg amputated after she was crushed in the rubble. Her mother, Lynda, was at her bedside.

Before the news of his death was released, neighbours of Mr McColl said they were praying he was trapped in an air pocket and waiting to be rescued.

One, who was clearly shocked by the news, said: “His daughter has lost a leg and he’s still trapped – it’s just awful. He’s a very nice neighbour, a nice chap; I just hope they get him out. It’s a terrible, terrible thing, just so unbelievable really.”

Another neighbour said: “He is a real high-flyer and works really hard for his business, but he is such a nice chap and everyone is shocked.”

The family of Mr McColl’s fellow company director, Ms Brownlie, were told by police officers in the early hours of yesterday that she had died.

Family members, including her mother, also called Margaret, gathered in her home in Strathaven, Lanarkshire, as they tried to come to terms with the news. She was being comforted at home yesterday by her daughter, Morag, who said they were too distressed to comment.

The victim’s mother had spoken of her hope that her daughter would be pulled from wreckage as she watched the horror unfold on television on Tuesday.

She said: “I would love to hear from my daughter again. It was a dreadful shock to see what had happened and I just hope that she is OK and I hear from her soon. I don’t know how she is but I am worried for her and those she worked with.”

A Strathaven councillor, James Malloy, said: “Margaret was an enthusiastic member of the community council and very popular in the village. This is an awful tragedy and she will be missed terribly by her family and friends.”

Mrs Trench, from the Colston area of Glasgow, had recently married. Her husband, Andrew, was too distraught to talk. It is thought she had been due to leave the company tomorrow to start a new job.

A neighbour, John Campbell, said: “It is very sad. Ann was such a nice person and I would stop and chat to her in the street. She was not long married to her husband and they had only lived here for around four or five years. She worked as a secretary in the factory. I am just stunned by the news.”

Another neighbour said: “She was just a wonderful girl. So happy, so pleased to have got married and looking forward to enjoying her life. I can’t believe that she left to go to work and will never come home.”

Mr Ferguson was described as a “marvellous guy” by one friend: “He will be sadly missed by friends and family in the village. He was chairman of the Lilias Day committee and festival, which was held annually in the village to raise money for charity. It was very dear to his heart and known by everyone.”

Firefighters were last night still working to reach two people believed to be trapped in the wreckage – although hope was fading after knocking noises disappeared early yesterday.

One of the missing is thought to be Timmy Smith, 31, an office worker. His wife, Louise, was being comforted by family at their home in Johnstone, Renfrewshire. Their first child, a boy, was christened last week.

Firemaster Brian Sweeney said the search operation would continue for up to seven days.

He said: “We believe that the two remaining people are the final figure. We don’t believe them to be in the same area of the building, but we have split the building into six grids and we are searching through each.

“Cameras proved unsuccessful, so now we are removing the roof section and then applying the same efforts to the rubble beneath. We don’t know what condition they are in, but the sleeves remain rolled up and we are giving them every chance possible.”

Kenny Ross, the Scottish secretary of the Fire Brigades Union, said officers in charge of the rescue operation told him that a major problem was firefighters were refusing to leave.

“What you have got to understand is that in a collapsed building, it is a massively slow, painstaking process,” Mr Ross said. “If firefighters are in it for ten minutes, especially in this heat, they are absolutely exhausted.

“The problem the officer in charge has is trying to get firefighters out to take a proper rest break. If you go to a job like this and if you are trained – day in, day out – to go and assist these people in an unbelievable incident like this, absolutely massive in scale, then you see the commitment of the firefighters shining through.”

A total of 19 survivors were still being treated for their injuries in hospital, ten of them in a “serious condition”.

Doctors are particularly concerned for John Turner, 50, another company director, who was said to be fighting for his life. The father of two normally works in Edinburgh at Easter Road Plastics, which is owned by ICL, but was in Glasgow for a meeting with other executives on the factory’s fourth floor.

Mr Turner’s legs were crushed and his skull fractured after he fell through the collapsing building to the ground floor. His family were keeping a bedside vigil at the Western Infirmary in Glasgow.

His mother, Annie Turner, 81, from Inverkeithing in Fife, said: “I just put the news on and saw that there had been an explosion at a plastics factory, but I didn’t think it was John’s at first, because he is usually in Edinburgh. But he was there because he is a company director and has to go there once a week. I phoned his number straight away but it was answered by a staff nurse.

“I have been sitting here worried sick ever since. I haven’t had the news on because I just can’t face it. His legs are all smashed up. He has a fractured skull and I think his eyes and face were hit as well. He is being heavily sedated because he is in a lot of pain so he is slipping in and out of consciousness.”

Father Stephen Dunn, a priest who used to work at ICL Plastics, was helping to comfort the victims and their families at Glasgow’s Stobhill Hospital, where he is the chaplain.

“Everyone is completely shattered by what has happened. I have been with some of the victims, just trying to be there for them and give them support and comfort,” he said. “I used to work in the factory before I entered the priesthood. To see this here, to know that seven people have died in this tragedy, I’m shattered.”

A Stockline Plastics director, Campbell Downie, 69, whose son, Nicholas, was understood to have been one of the survivors pulled from the factory by firefighters, issued a statement yesterday. It said: “The companies [ICL and Stockline] express our condolences to the families of those among our staff whose lives were taken in the tragic event at our plant. Our thoughts are also with those who have suffered serious injuries and to their loved ones as they await their recovery.

“All of us are deeply shocked by the incident and relieved that so many people escaped serious injury.”