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| Glasgow's Clutha bar reopens after helicopter crash | Glasgow's Clutha bar reopens after helicopter crash |
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| Glasgow’s Clutha bar has reopened more than a year and a half after a Police Scotland helicopter crashed through the building’s roof, killing 10 people. | Glasgow’s Clutha bar has reopened more than a year and a half after a Police Scotland helicopter crashed through the building’s roof, killing 10 people. |
| Scotland’s first minister, Nicola Sturgeon, joined bar staff, emergency workers and the families of some of those killed in the crash to mark the pub’s reopening on Friday. She said the event would evoke mixed emotions in Glasgow. | Scotland’s first minister, Nicola Sturgeon, joined bar staff, emergency workers and the families of some of those killed in the crash to mark the pub’s reopening on Friday. She said the event would evoke mixed emotions in Glasgow. |
| “I’m very aware that we’re here to celebrate a happy occasion, the reopening of a Glasgow institution,” she said. “But like anyone else in Glasgow I remember the horror of what happened, and that’s something that people in this city will never forget.” | “I’m very aware that we’re here to celebrate a happy occasion, the reopening of a Glasgow institution,” she said. “But like anyone else in Glasgow I remember the horror of what happened, and that’s something that people in this city will never forget.” |
| Related: Helicopter crashes through roof of Clutha Vaults Bar in Glasgow – in pictures | Related: Helicopter crashes through roof of Clutha Vaults Bar in Glasgow – in pictures |
| Sturgeon, who said she had frequented the Clutha as a student, praised the actions of police, firefighters and ambulance crews who responded to the crash, as well as those of people in Glasgow who assisted those trapped in the building. | Sturgeon, who said she had frequented the Clutha as a student, praised the actions of police, firefighters and ambulance crews who responded to the crash, as well as those of people in Glasgow who assisted those trapped in the building. |
| “There are so many amazing stories, so many acts of bravery and human kindness,” she said. “It brought home to me just how local Glasgow is. Everyone in this city is connected.” | |
| The accident, on 29 November 2013, claimed the lives of seven Clutha customers attending a concert at the venue, as well as those of two police constables and the civilian pilot on board the Eurocopter EC135. The helicopter had been returning to its base by the River Clyde following a routine callout when it suffered a double engine failure. | The accident, on 29 November 2013, claimed the lives of seven Clutha customers attending a concert at the venue, as well as those of two police constables and the civilian pilot on board the Eurocopter EC135. The helicopter had been returning to its base by the River Clyde following a routine callout when it suffered a double engine failure. |
| For Alan Crossan, the Clutha’s owner, the reopening marked an emotional milestone in the bar’s history. But he called on the helicopter’s operators, Bond Air Services, to provide bereaved families with information on the cause of the crash. | For Alan Crossan, the Clutha’s owner, the reopening marked an emotional milestone in the bar’s history. But he called on the helicopter’s operators, Bond Air Services, to provide bereaved families with information on the cause of the crash. |
| “It’s 600 days now since their helicopter dropped out of the sky onto our people,” he said. “There are still no answers and we don’t know what happened. Bond need to start thinking about people and stop thinking about their balance sheet.” | “It’s 600 days now since their helicopter dropped out of the sky onto our people,” he said. “There are still no answers and we don’t know what happened. Bond need to start thinking about people and stop thinking about their balance sheet.” |
| While the venue has reopened, the original bar area remains in a state of disrepair. In its place, Crossan has built a new bar in the space formerly occupied by the venue’s smoking area. He said it was unclear whether the original building would return to its previous use. | |
| Related: Clutha Vaults owner vows to rebuild after helicopter crash | Related: Clutha Vaults owner vows to rebuild after helicopter crash |
| “Ultimately we’re going to have to see what the familes want done with the space,” he said. “It feels a bit weird to have people drinking where people have died.” | |
| Bartender Anne Marie Kennedy was working in the pub on the night of the crash. She said she had mixed feelings about the reopening. “It’s definitely bittersweet,” she said. | |
| “On the one hand it’s great to see the place open again. But we’re never going to forget what happened. I was trapped in the bar and I broke my leg. I have a titanium leg now. I’m just so, so grateful to the emergency services for getting me out of there and to the NHS staff who looked after us all in the weeks afterwards.” | |
| The Clutha, which takes its name from the Gaelic word for the Clyde, has long had a reputation as a live music venue. Known as a hub for folk fans and musicians in the 1960s, it staged performances from artists including Billy Connolly and Gerry Raffery, the writer of the 1978 hit Baker Street. In later years the Clutha played host to a variety of Scottish artists. Ska band Esperanza were in the middle of a set when the helicopter crashed. | The Clutha, which takes its name from the Gaelic word for the Clyde, has long had a reputation as a live music venue. Known as a hub for folk fans and musicians in the 1960s, it staged performances from artists including Billy Connolly and Gerry Raffery, the writer of the 1978 hit Baker Street. In later years the Clutha played host to a variety of Scottish artists. Ska band Esperanza were in the middle of a set when the helicopter crashed. |
| A fund established to support those injured or bereaved as a result of the disaster has raised over £500,000, a portion of which came from benefit concerts featuring local musicians. A separate charity, the Clutha Trust, has also been established in memory of the victims. It aims to provide musical instruments and tuition to children in poverty-stricken areas of Glasgow and has attracted the support of stars including Noel Gallagher, formerly of Oasis, and Muse frontman Matt Bellamy. | A fund established to support those injured or bereaved as a result of the disaster has raised over £500,000, a portion of which came from benefit concerts featuring local musicians. A separate charity, the Clutha Trust, has also been established in memory of the victims. It aims to provide musical instruments and tuition to children in poverty-stricken areas of Glasgow and has attracted the support of stars including Noel Gallagher, formerly of Oasis, and Muse frontman Matt Bellamy. |
| Dutch Rukowski is the Clutha Trust’s manager. He said big-name musicians had been quick to support the cause. | |
| “We’ve just got a signed guitar from AC/DC,” he said. “They were really keen to help us, and they asked that we spend the money we raise from it helping kids in Cranhill (where guitarist brothers Angus and Malcolm Young were born). | |
| “There’s a lot of social problems in Glasgow, and music can give kids a way out of that. Everything we do is in memory of the people who died in the crash, and this seems like a great way to take a tragedy and built something positive out of it.” |