UK NEWS

GLASGOW VICTIMS WERE STRANDED FOR TEN HOURS

Monday July 9,2007

By Ken Adams

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SIX passengers were taken to hospital and another 14 needed medical treatment after being stranded on grounded aircraft for up to 10 hours following the car bomb attack at Glasgow Airport.

Paramedics rushed to a number of the 11 jets parked at the terminal after 999 calls for help.

Strathclyde Police and airport security had kept all 1,250 passengers, pilots and crew on planes which had either just landed when the terrorists struck, or were fully boarded ready to take-off.

All those stranded were eventually taken by bus with police escort to the SECC in Glasgow.

Airport staff started to offload passengers at 9.30pm, but didn’t finish till 2am, and up to 250 passengers on some jets began to suffer with air conditioning shut down and the doors staying shut.

Two diabetics collapsed because their medication was in the baggage hold and police were called to one holiday jet seven hours after lockdown after “unrest” amongst passengers.

An airport insider said: “First casualty was a diabetic woman whobecame unconscious on a Spanish Futura 1510 flight.

“This was five hours after the jeep fire. An ambulance and set of stairs were sent to the plane shortly before 9pm.

“Another diabetic sufferer was in trouble on a Thomson holiday flight and needed insulin and an ambulance shuttled between the aircraft parked next to the terminal.

“This was happening because the passengers couldn’t get to their medication, heart pills, insulin, asthma inhalers.”

The airport opened for business on the Sunday morning after a major clear-up of the terminal.

A BAA Glasgow Airport spokesman said:”We couldn’t possibly move the passengers any sooner, because it was a crime scene.

“The airport was closed 15 minutes after the attack and we started moving people off planes at 9.30pm. The job was finished at 2am as police wanted a police escort with each bus. We had 1,200 stuck on 11 jets.”

A Department of Transport spokesman said:”One feels for those passengers stuck on the planes although this was an unforeseen incident”.

A Scottish Ambulance Service spokesman confirmed:”We took six passengers on planes to hospital after they’d either fainted or fallen ill onboard aircraft.

“They were taken by ambulance to the Southern General in Glasgow.

“None had life-threatening conditions and this was a precautionary measure.

“The passengers the majority elderly and those with pre-existing conditions such as asthma, were given tests in the hospital”.

He confirmed paramedics also treated a further 20 people who did not require hospital admission.

An NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde spokeswoman confirmed:”People were taken to the Southern General Hospital and discharged after treatment.”

Among the stranded passengers was Scotland manager Alex McLeish who was kept on board for nearly nine hours.