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Rescue workers lift the rear rotor blades from the site of a police helicopter crash onto the Clutha Pub in central Glasgow, Scotland, yesterday.
GLASGOW: Scottish rescuers continued the search for bodies inside the wreckage of a Glasgow pub yesterday as the nation said prayers for the eight killed in a freak police helicopter accident.
Fourteen people remained in hospital with serious injuries after the helicopter came crashing through the roof of The Clutha, a popular live music bar in Scotland’s biggest city.
Well over 100 people were watching a local ska band play on a busy Friday night in the city centre pub by the River Clyde when the unexplained disaster struck.
A memorial service was held at Glasgow Cathedral on what was supposed to be a weekend of festivities for Saint Andrew’s Day, Scotland’s patron saint.
“We will pause to mark those who have been injured, those who have lost their lives and all of the members of the public and emergency services who have worked so tirelessly, and continue to assist in the rescue operation,” the Church of Scotland cathedral said.
Scotland’s Deputy First Minister Nicola Sturgeon was among those attending the service, along with ambulance workers in uniform.
Other churches across the country remembered the dead in their services. Three people on board the helicopter — two officers and a civilian pilot — and five people in the bar are so far known to have been killed.
The first victim whose body was recovered from the scene was named as Gary Arthur, 48, from the Paisley area of Glasgow, whose daughter Chloe plays football for Scotland and Celtic under-19s.
A minute’s silence will be held ahead of the Scottish Cup football match between hosts Hearts and league champions Celtic in Edinburgh.
AFP
