The names of the nine people who died when a police helicopter crashed into a busy Glasgow pub have been released. The final four – Robert Jenkins (61), Mark O’Prey (44) Colin Gibson (33) and John McGarrigle (57) were named today. The other victims were Samuel McGhee, 56, Gary Arthur, 48, and the helicopter pilot David Traill, 51, and PCs Kirsty Nelis, 36, and Tony Collins, 43.
David Traill (pilot), PC Kirsty Nelis, PC Tony Collins
Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg laid a floral tribute where the aircraft crashed into the Clutha bar on Friday. Paying tribute to the ‘exceptional’ response from the people of Glasgow and the emergency services, he said the UK government was “ready to provide help if and when it is needed.” He promised to work with the city council “in any way we can to provide the help which they judge to be necessary.”
Gary Arthur, Samuel McGhee, John McGarrigle
No further bodies were found during the final phase of a recovery operation. The focus is now changing towards helping the bereaved and survivors. The First Minister, Alex Salmond, signed a book of condolence at Glasgow City Chambers and is expected to make a statement on the tragedy in the Scottish Parliament.
Colin Gibson, Mark O’Prey, Robert Jenkins
The recovery operation has been long and difficult. Some of the families have expressed their frustration about the lack of information they were given. However, as Deputy Chief Constable, Rose Fitzpatrick, explained, it had involved “painstaking work and the skills of specialist personnel from across the emergency services”. She stressed that the police would go on providing support to the families involved as their investigation continued.
Eleven of the 32 people injured in the crash are still in hospital. The BBC has reported that three remain in a serious condition. Officers conducting the investigation have asked for any footage of the incident to be emailed to: glasgowhelicopterincident@scotland.pnn.police.uk
The remains of the helicopter will now be moved to the headquarters of the Air Accident Investigation Branch in Farnborough. Investigators face a difficult task and it may be a long time before their final report throws light on what actually went wrong. There’s evidence from eye-witness reports that things went wrong very quickly. But the aircraft wasn’t fitted with a flight data recorder which means it will be much harder to identify the cause.