The Disasters that Shocked Scotland

In this episode, we revisit 1988, and the devastating Piper Alpha disaster. On the night of 6 July, an explosion on the oil and gas platform off the coast of Aberdeen resulted in the worst offshore disaster in the UK. We also journey back to 2004, when an explosion in Maryhill in the west of Glasgow, reduced a busy four-story plastics factory to rubble

Through archive footage, emotional testimony from those impacted by the events, and interviews with journalists who covered the stories, this series examines disasters that have shocked Scotland. In this episode, we revisit 1984 and the Polmont rail crash. Just before 6pm on 30 July, a rush-hour train travelling from Edinburgh to Glasgow crashed and derailed close to Polmont train station. Two years later, a Chinook helicopter carrying 47 oil workers and crew crashed on its return to Shetland.

In this episode, we revisit the 1971 Ibrox disaster. On 2 January, following a 1-1 draw between rivals Rangers and Celtic, an accident on Ibrox’s Stairway 13 resulted in tragedy. Almost 30 years later, in 2000, a crew of seven men from Galloway were lost at sea while out catching scallops on their boat, the Solway Harvester.

Through archive footage, emotional testimony from those impacted by the events and interviews with journalists who covered the stories, this series examines disasters that have shocked Scotland. In this episode, we revisit 1971 and the Lockerbie bombing. The UK’s deadliest terrorist attack occurred when a Pan Am flight to New York City exploded over the town of Lockerbie just days before Christmas. Then, 25 years later, in 2013, a police helicopter crashed into the roof of the busy Clutha bar in Glasgow’s city centre.

In this episode, we revisit 1994 and the Mull of Kintyre helicopter crash. While heading to a security conference at Fort George, the helicopter carrying Northern Irish intelligence officers crashed into a hillside on the Mull of Kintyre. Ten years later, in 2004, a small fire in Rosepark Care Home in Uddingston resulted in tragedy.

Through archive footage, emotional testimony from those impacted by the events, and interviews with journalists who covered the stories, this programme examines two disasters that have shocked the nation. In this episode, we revisit 2013 and the bin lorry crash. Just days before Christmas, a bin lorry lost control, veering into pedestrians before crashing into the Millennium Hotel at Glasgow’s George Square. Back in 1971, a gas explosion at a shopping centre in Clarkson resulted in tragedy.