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| Relatives of Glasgow crash victims question speed of recovery operation | Relatives of Glasgow crash victims question speed of recovery operation |
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| Families of some of those feared dead in the Glasgow helicopter crash have reacted angrily to the slow pace of the recovery and identification of their loved ones. | Families of some of those feared dead in the Glasgow helicopter crash have reacted angrily to the slow pace of the recovery and identification of their loved ones. |
| Resuce services recovered the last two victims of the accidenton Monday, escorting the remains through an informal guard of honour, after removing the wreckage of the nearly intact helicopter from the Clutha Vaults pub. But there was criticism of the recovery operation from two families who complained about the lack of official disclosure. | |
| Police Scotland on Monday named the fifth of the nine fatalities as Samuel McGhee, 56, of Glasgow and sought to reassure relatives they were trying to identify bodies as carefully and as sensitively as possible. However, the son of a man missing in the crash, John McGarrigle, 59, who was thought to have been sitting next to McGhee, and relatives of another missing man, Mark O'Prey, were furious at the speed of the recovery operation and identification of the dead. | Police Scotland on Monday named the fifth of the nine fatalities as Samuel McGhee, 56, of Glasgow and sought to reassure relatives they were trying to identify bodies as carefully and as sensitively as possible. However, the son of a man missing in the crash, John McGarrigle, 59, who was thought to have been sitting next to McGhee, and relatives of another missing man, Mark O'Prey, were furious at the speed of the recovery operation and identification of the dead. |
| McGarrigle's son, also John, visited the site on Monday for the second time to again press home his demands for help from the police. He had been angry about the lack of disclosure on Saturday, displaying a smartphone snapshot of him and his father, who was a poet and writer, sitting in the Clutha to the media. | |
| "I know he was in there, there's eyewitness accounts from people in there," McGarrigle said. "I want my dad out of there, it's like a piece of machinery is more important than the people underneath there." | "I know he was in there, there's eyewitness accounts from people in there," McGarrigle said. "I want my dad out of there, it's like a piece of machinery is more important than the people underneath there." |
| Ian O'Prey, whose son Mark is feared dead, said he also believed the recovery of the helicopter was taking precedence over removing bodies. | Ian O'Prey, whose son Mark is feared dead, said he also believed the recovery of the helicopter was taking precedence over removing bodies. |
| Speaking to BBC Radio Scotland's Good Morning Scotland programme, O'Prey said: "I thought if they had made a better attempt on the Saturday night, I thought they perhaps could have got them out a lot earlier than they did, but I think they were more concerned about this helicopter. | Speaking to BBC Radio Scotland's Good Morning Scotland programme, O'Prey said: "I thought if they had made a better attempt on the Saturday night, I thought they perhaps could have got them out a lot earlier than they did, but I think they were more concerned about this helicopter. |
| "I feel it could have been done better. Communication was dreadful. I'm sure they could have got the bodies out quicker." | "I feel it could have been done better. Communication was dreadful. I'm sure they could have got the bodies out quicker." |
| The four others officially confirmed dead are Gary Arthur, 48, a Clutha customer from Paisley, Renfrewshire, and the three occupants of the helicopter: civilian pilot David Traill, 51, and police constables Kirsty Nelis, 36, and Tony Collins, 43, both of whom had previously received commendations for bravery. Two further remaining two victims have still not been named officially or informally. | The four others officially confirmed dead are Gary Arthur, 48, a Clutha customer from Paisley, Renfrewshire, and the three occupants of the helicopter: civilian pilot David Traill, 51, and police constables Kirsty Nelis, 36, and Tony Collins, 43, both of whom had previously received commendations for bravery. Two further remaining two victims have still not been named officially or informally. |
| There were also 12 people still in hospital, several still critically ill, with three under specialist care at a spinal unit at the Southern General hospital. | |
| Deputy Chief Constable Rose Fitzpatrick said that the search through the dense rubble and debris was "a difficult and complex operation". The emergency services needed time to do their work, to preserve the scene and evidence for investigators, but also to preserve the dignity of the dead. | Deputy Chief Constable Rose Fitzpatrick said that the search through the dense rubble and debris was "a difficult and complex operation". The emergency services needed time to do their work, to preserve the scene and evidence for investigators, but also to preserve the dignity of the dead. |
| "The uncertainty for the families of those who have died is at the front of our minds," she said. "It remains our absolute priority to give clarity to those affected as soon as we are able. The loss of so many people has been deeply felt." | "The uncertainty for the families of those who have died is at the front of our minds," she said. "It remains our absolute priority to give clarity to those affected as soon as we are able. The loss of so many people has been deeply felt." |
| It also emerged that the helicopter had fallen so suddenly on Friday night the pilot was unable to broadcast a mayday call. David Miller, deputy chief inspector of the Air Accident Investigation Branch, said the aircraft had made "a vertical descent" before it crashed, with nothing falling off it before it punched a hole in the roof of the Clutha. | |
| "I can confirm that the helicopter does not have a flight data recorder. However, it does have a significant number of modern electronic systems on board and it may be possible to recover recorded data from those systems," Miller said. There were no emergency transmissions from the pilot before this accident." | "I can confirm that the helicopter does not have a flight data recorder. However, it does have a significant number of modern electronic systems on board and it may be possible to recover recorded data from those systems," Miller said. There were no emergency transmissions from the pilot before this accident." |
| David Goodhew, the Scottish fire and rescue service operation commander, said the recovery operation had been very complex because of the age and structure of the building. The Clutha, taken from the Gaelic name for the Clyde, was the ground floor of a Victorian former tenement building partly demolished in the 1960s. | David Goodhew, the Scottish fire and rescue service operation commander, said the recovery operation had been very complex because of the age and structure of the building. The Clutha, taken from the Gaelic name for the Clyde, was the ground floor of a Victorian former tenement building partly demolished in the 1960s. |
| It had thick sandstone walls up to a metre thick, solid cellars and a roof with three layers: an outer level of timber and felt, the original floorboards of the first floor and a third thick ceiling that included substantial soundproofing. | |
| Standing close to hundreds of bouquets of flowers laid on a nearby wall as the public's tribute to the dead, Goodhew, assistant chief fire officer, said the operation had been "very moving and very tragic" for the emergency service workers involved. "It has been a very, very stressful situation," he said. | Standing close to hundreds of bouquets of flowers laid on a nearby wall as the public's tribute to the dead, Goodhew, assistant chief fire officer, said the operation had been "very moving and very tragic" for the emergency service workers involved. "It has been a very, very stressful situation," he said. |
| As Pope Francis sent a message of condolence to the victims and "the entire community of Glasgow in these moments of distress and sadness", the owner of the Clutha, Alan Crossan, said he planned to rebuild the bar. | As Pope Francis sent a message of condolence to the victims and "the entire community of Glasgow in these moments of distress and sadness", the owner of the Clutha, Alan Crossan, said he planned to rebuild the bar. |
| He had had numerous offers of help, including a pledge from Tennent Caledonian, who supply his beer, to pay the wages of 12 staff and help the costs of rebuilding. | He had had numerous offers of help, including a pledge from Tennent Caledonian, who supply his beer, to pay the wages of 12 staff and help the costs of rebuilding. |
| "It wouldn't be accepted if I didn't do that. It has to be rebuilt, the same way it was before," Crossan said. The rebuilt pub would include a memorial to the victims and survivors, he said. A benefit concert is being arranged for January by the Scots actor Colin McCredie, who plays Detective Constable Stuart Fraser in the Glasgow-set police drama Taggart. | "It wouldn't be accepted if I didn't do that. It has to be rebuilt, the same way it was before," Crossan said. The rebuilt pub would include a memorial to the victims and survivors, he said. A benefit concert is being arranged for January by the Scots actor Colin McCredie, who plays Detective Constable Stuart Fraser in the Glasgow-set police drama Taggart. |
| After watching the remains of the helicopter lifted from the building on Monday morning, Crossan said: "It's a strange and terrible thing to see a helicopter lifted out of your pub. I still can't believe that it took place. | |
| "Two of my staff are still in hospital, one with a broken arm, one with a broken leg, but we're also worried about how many other bodies of customers they might find. It is awful." | "Two of my staff are still in hospital, one with a broken arm, one with a broken leg, but we're also worried about how many other bodies of customers they might find. It is awful." |
| The site was handed over to air accident investigators and council building safety officers late on Monday, as the nearly intact Eurocopter EC135 was driven off for its journey to the AAIB's headquarters at Farnborough in Hampshire for an exhaustive, detailed forensic investigation. | The site was handed over to air accident investigators and council building safety officers late on Monday, as the nearly intact Eurocopter EC135 was driven off for its journey to the AAIB's headquarters at Farnborough in Hampshire for an exhaustive, detailed forensic investigation. |
| The AAIB confirmed the three tonne aircraft did not carry a black box flight recorder. But he said it was laden with sophisticated police tracking and recording equipment which could help investigators piece together its final moments and the cause of its catastrophic crash. | The AAIB confirmed the three tonne aircraft did not carry a black box flight recorder. But he said it was laden with sophisticated police tracking and recording equipment which could help investigators piece together its final moments and the cause of its catastrophic crash. |
| One eyewitness, Craig Russell, told the Guardian on Sunday that he saw a "shower of sparks" like an exploding firework as the helicopter flew westwards over the Saltmarket road only a few hundred metres from the Clutha. | One eyewitness, Craig Russell, told the Guardian on Sunday that he saw a "shower of sparks" like an exploding firework as the helicopter flew westwards over the Saltmarket road only a few hundred metres from the Clutha. |
| It was making an odd noise as if the engine was misfiring, with the rotor blades sounding fine for several beats before an odd metallic grating noise could be heard, and that sequence of sounds continued, he said, as it flew. | It was making an odd noise as if the engine was misfiring, with the rotor blades sounding fine for several beats before an odd metallic grating noise could be heard, and that sequence of sounds continued, he said, as it flew. |
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