From the archives: 7 soldiers killed at Cairnryan

Published on 26/06/2012 00:00

26 June, 1946

Seven soldiers are known to have lost their lives as a result of an explosion at No 2 Military Port, Cairnryan, near Stranraer, yesterday afternoon. Nineteen soldiers were injured.

The men were engaged in the removal of ammunition. They were unloading the ammunition from lorries on to the pier preparatory to its being lifted by crane on to tank landing craft for dumping in the Irish Sea. The cause of the explosion is unknown, but it is presumed that by some means a detonator was struck, and this caused the whole load to blow up.

Villagers at Cairnryan heard a dull explosion and immediately afterwards saw huge columns of yellow smoke envelop the dock, which was cordoned off.

A large part of the jetty was blown in. During the remainder of the day, divers were employed in a search for bodies in Loch Ryan.

• archive.scotsman.com