Helicopter Tragedy in Glasgow
The next item of business is a statement by Alex Salmond on the helicopter tragedy in Glasgow.
14:04
Presiding Officer, I would like to make a statement about the helicopter crash in Glasgow last Friday night. The whole chamber will wish to join me in expressing our deepest condolences to the families and friends of those who were killed or injured. All those who have been affected are in the thoughts and prayers of people across the length and breadth of Scotland.
At 10.25 pm on Friday 29 November, a Police Scotland helicopter came down on the roof of the Clutha Vaults in Stockwell Street, Glasgow. There were three people on board: the civilian pilot and two police officers. The Clutha Vaults was busy with more than 100 people enjoying a Friday night out. The helicopter was a Eurocopter EC135 T2+, which was owned and operated by Bond Air Services and leased to the Scottish Police Authority. There are some 1,100 of that type of helicopter in service around the world.
There were a significant number of casualties. Thirty-two injured people were initially taken to Glasgow royal infirmary, the Western infirmary and the Victoria infirmary. A number of casualties were subsequently transferred to the Southern general hospital. Nine people have been confirmed as having died in the incident and 11 people remain in hospital receiving treatment, three of them in intensive care units. All other casualties have now been released.
Six of the victims were in the Clutha Vaults when tragedy struck. At this difficult time, our thoughts are with the grieving families of Gary Arthur from Paisley, Robert Jenkins from East Kilbride, Samuel McGhee from Glasgow, Mark O’Prey from East Kilbride, Colin Gibson from Ayr and John McGarrigle from Cumbernauld. Three of the victims died in the helicopter. Constable Tony Collins, Constable Kirsty Nelis and Captain David Traill were members of Police Scotland’s air support unit. On behalf of the Parliament and this country, I extend our deepest sympathies to the families of all nine victims. The procurator fiscal has concluded his work to identify those who died, and he has authorised the release of their bodies to their families today. That will allow the families, with assistance and support, to make their funeral arrangements.
As soon as news of the crash came through, a major rescue and recovery operation was co-ordinated by a multi-agency group that was led by Police Scotland. I fully endorse the exceptional responses of the three emergency services, of the national health service, of Glasgow City Council and of all the other agencies that came so rapidly to the aid of the victims in a complex and often dangerous situation. The Scottish Ambulance Service was on the scene within one minute of receiving the emergency call. The Scottish Police Authority’s forensic services staff also cancelled leave or continued to work extended hours to meet the needs of the investigation. A Police Scotland casualty bureau was operational from the early hours of Saturday morning to respond to over 600 calls from relatives and friends, and a family and friends reception centre was established by Glasgow City Council at the Gorbals leisure centre and then at Glasgow City Chambers.
The Scottish Government’s resilience room was activated late on Friday night. The Cabinet sub-committee on resilience met on Saturday morning and has met twice daily since. The Cabinet Secretary for Justice and I went to Glasgow the first thing on Saturday morning, accompanied by the leader of Glasgow City Council. The Deputy First Minister, who has been in charge of the ministerial response in Glasgow, visited the scene of the incident on Saturday afternoon.
In recent days, the Deputy First Minister, the Cabinet Secretary for Justice, the Minister for Community Safety and the Minister for Public Health and I have all met many of the NHS and emergency services staff who have been involved in the response to offer our personal thanks for their tireless efforts. I visited the control centre and spoke to officers and emergency staff from Police Scotland, the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service, the national health service and the Scottish Ambulance Service. I saw for myself the speed and effectiveness of the immediate mobilisation of the emergency services in dealing with the tragedy.
Today, with the Lord Provost of Glasgow, I met David Goodhew, assistant chief officer of the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service, and expressed the Parliament’s admiration and total support for the bravery, commitment and conduct of the rescue teams. It has been a very complex and dangerous operation because of the nature of the accident and of the building. The emergency services have been working to a clear hierarchy of priorities. First and foremost has been the rescue and recovery operation; secondly, they have been securing the site in extraordinarily dangerous circumstances; and, thirdly, they have ensured the integrity of evidence for future investigation. Their hard work and determination have been extraordinary and have been typified by the specialist rescue teams, which have worked in very confined spaces, with the danger of further collapse.
I briefed the Prime Minister about the incident on Saturday afternoon, and he expressed his condolences and sympathy. He also extended the offer of military support, which was not required, but the offer was appreciated nevertheless.
Messages of sympathy have been sent from around the world and from many nations in support of the bereaved families. Her Majesty the Queen has expressed her sadness and His Holiness Pope Francis has sent a message expressing his closeness to the people of Glasgow at this time. We have had many messages of solidarity and support from Governments across these islands and around the world, including from those of Canada, Latvia, New Zealand, Malawi and many, many more.
Many people in Glasgow have left flowers near the scene, have signed the book of condolence or have lit candles to remember the dead. The Deputy First Minister and the Cabinet Secretary for Justice attended the service at Glasgow cathedral, which was led with such dignity and compassion by the Rev Dr Laurence Whitley, who is also chaplain to the Police Service.
It is important now that we give the bereaved families not just support but the time and privacy to grieve.
Glasgow City Council has established a fund for affected families, and I can confirm that the Scottish Government will match the council’s contribution. The council has established a hotline for people who want to make donations, as well as a dedicated helpline for those who are in need of support.
We also need to determine what caused Friday’s tragedy, so that we can learn the necessary lessons. A full police investigation, under the direction of the Crown Office, is now under way into the circumstances of the incident. Today, the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service has put information on its website that is designed to explain that process to the public. It is the task of the Air Accidents Investigation Branch to carry out its investigation and to determine the cause of the incident. That investigation commenced on Saturday. We expect a preliminary report within the next few days, but full and final findings are not likely to be available for a number of months. We will make it clear that it would be very much in the interests of all concerned if that investigation were carried out as quickly as is humanly possible. Any decision by the Crown Office on further inquiry must await the full and final findings of the AAIB.
Finally, we must focus on getting Glasgow back to normal life. Glasgow City Council is co-ordinating that work, with the support of the Scottish Government and many other agencies and organisations, but it is the people of Glasgow who will lead the way, just as they did on Friday night.
Friday was a black day for Glasgow and for Scotland, but we can take heart from the exemplary response of our emergency services, and from how people responded to adversity. We have all been inspired by the instinctive courage of ordinary Glaswegians in coming to the aid of their fellow citizens in a time of need. In the immediate aftermath of the crash, we saw people running towards—not away from—potential danger to help. We saw people who were in the Clutha Vaults and those nearby entering the building in the first seconds after the incident to form a human chain to help the injured to escape.
There have been many acts of kindness and concern: the local pizza restaurant staying open all night to feed the rescue workers; the Holiday Inn Express opening its doors to support casualties; health service workers reporting for duty even when they were not on shift; Glasgow Central Mosque offering support; Glasgow Taxis offering free transport for affected families; priests from the parish helping the injured and relatives; the Salvation Army handing out tea and coffee at the scene; a benefit concert being organised for victims; people queueing up to give blood; and many, many more. I wish to place on record this Parliament’s gratitude to each and every organisation and individual who has stepped forward so selflessly to help others.
Tragedies do not define people, cities or countries. We are defined by how we respond to tragedy. As we mourn those who have died, we can also reflect on the compassion, sympathy and solidarity that have been demonstrated in recent days throughout Scotland and beyond. That should be a source of pride for us all, even in the face of such sorrow and adversity.
14:14
I thank the First Minister. I appreciate his statement and acknowledge the way in which politicians and Governments at every level and from across parties have come together to ensure that the things that need to be done are being done. Everyone appreciates that.
There is a time for questions—there are many questions—but now is also a time for reflection. On Friday night, the frailty but also the strength of humanity shocked us and made us humble, and even proud. On that Friday night—the last payday before Christmas—friends and family gathered in one of Glasgow’s warmest and friendliest pubs—then tragedy struck. It reminded us of the frailty of human life.
When I heard the news, I was going home after spending my Friday as the people in the Clutha had been spending it—listening to a band in a pub. My son was playing in that band. Even now, I feel the shock of hearing that, for the people in the Clutha, their evening had ended in such tragedy. Our hearts go out to the families of the nine victims and all who were injured.
What happened to the people in the Clutha Vaults is difficult to fathom, but the response of the people of Glasgow was truly remarkable. We would all like to think that when faced with such an incident we would do the right thing, but none of us really knows until we are tested. Well, Presiding Officer—hundreds of Glaswegians were tested on Friday night and we found out something marvellous about them all: their determination to do the right thing and not to worry about the cost. I am proud of the friends of mine who I know stopped to help their neighbours, and we are all proud of all those who refused to pass by on the other side. A lesson on the strength and beauty of humanity went out from Glasgow on Friday night.
We can also be proud of members of our emergency services, some of whom were on the scene within a minute. Police, fire workers and ambulance staff did not stop to grieve the loss of three of their own, but instead focused solely on saving lives, while council workers volunteered immediately to get in and do the practical things that needed to be done, including feeding people, making the street secure and so on. Those people are still involved in the aftermath—helping, supporting, caring for and restoring Glasgow.
We know that for some people this is more than just an event or an incident. Many will mourn now, while others will suffer injuries and trauma from their experience. For them, life will never be the same again and our thoughts and prayers are with them all.
Out of that tragic loss, however, we have gained pride in the spirit of our community. Surely that gives us all some light and hope.
14:17
Nobody knows how they will react when the unimaginable happens. There is no handbook on how to respond to a tragedy that makes no sense—when, for example, a passenger airliner falls out of the sky above a town, an oil platform is engulfed in a fireball, a man walks into a primary school and opens fire or the rotors of a police helicopter stop spinning and it crashes into the roof of a city centre pub on a busy Friday night. Nobody knows how they will react when they are faced with such unimaginable scenes.
In Scotland, we pull together. On Friday, we saw people who had escaped the wreckage of the building turning around and going back in to help others. We saw passengers stop their cars and residents come out of their homes to join a human chain to help people to safety. We saw ambulance crews, fire officers and members of the police work through the night, the next day and the day after, sometimes at great risk, to save the living and recover the dead, knowing that their colleagues were in that wreckage. We then saw them form a simple, silent guard of honour as the last souls were recovered.
Our thoughts and prayers are with the families and loved ones of all who died and those who are injured, but our thanks go to those who ensured that that number did not rise. We saw some amazing acts of courage, generosity, thought and care: the son standing vigil by the police cordon throughout the night, knowing that his father’s seat was exactly where the helicopter fell and never contemplating that a son’s place would be anywhere other than where he was, waiting on the worst news that he would ever receive; the hotel opening its doors without question to the injured and exhausted; the pizza shop operating through the night to ensure that those helping at the scene received hot food; and the taxi firm waiving fares so that relatives could make hospital visits for free.
I record my thanks to the First Minister for speaking for Scotland on Saturday morning and again today, and to Glasgow City Council, which spoke for all of the city. Gordon Matheson and his team did not just co-ordinate the work but set the tone and reflected the mood of a Glasgow in shock, by cancelling St Andrew’s day events because respect was more important than cost, by feeding police, fire and ambulance workers at the scene, by setting up a family reception centre as news filtered through and by immediately offering financial help for anyone who was suffering hardship as a result of what unfolded.
The city’s slogan is “People make Glasgow”, and on Friday night and thereafter, people’s first, last and only thought was to help. No matter the risk and with no thought for themselves, people said, “What can we do?” All Glasgow will mourn Friday’s events and all Glasgow gives thanks. This week, Glasgow stood together.
14:20
On behalf of my colleagues, I join members from across the chamber in extending our heartfelt condolences to those who lost loved ones in the accident on Friday. It is hard to comprehend their loss. Our best wishes go out to all the other people who have been caught up in this tragedy—especially to those who remain seriously ill in hospital.
It should have been a Friday night like any other at the Clutha Vaults bar—an opportunity to listen to some live music, to catch up with friends and family or to have a drink with colleagues after work. What occurred could not have been more unexpected. The vibrancy of a seemingly ordinary evening was brought to an end in tragic circumstances.
And yet, in the saddest of situations, we have seen the very best of the people of Glasgow, with courage, compassion and character from staff and customers of the Clutha, from passers-by and, of course, from our emergency services alike—from those who formed a human chain to carry people out of the bar, to the hotel staff over the road who opened their doors to help in any way they could, to the staff who rushed into hospitals to attend to the victims, and to the people who worked tirelessly and painstakingly day and night on the complex rescue and recovery operation.
Where the community first came together to respond, people now comfort and care for one another, united in grief for family, friends and colleagues. As well as continued support, the bereaved need information and certainty about what led to the loss of their loved ones, which is why the investigation must now be given the space that it needs in order to determine exactly what happened, thereby ensuring that everything possible can be done to try to prevent such a tragedy from occurring again in the future.
14:22
On behalf of my colleagues and myself, I also offer our deepest condolences to those who have been bereaved, our concern and best wishes to those who remain injured as the dedicated people of our national health service support their recovery, and our thanks to the emergency services and everyone on the scene, who reacted with instinctive concern for the wellbeing of others around them. We are relieved that, in large part due to that instinctive response, so many people escaped physical injury, although no doubt the shock and trauma of surviving will stay with them throughout their lives.
It is also worth saying that many people in the Scottish media are due real credit for their work not only in reporting the facts to a shocked city and country in the midst of such distress, but also for exploring sensitively the feelings of those who were affected.
The tragedy took place as Scotland was preparing for the festive season. Over the weeks ahead, I doubt that many of us in Glasgow, in Scotland or indeed far beyond, in gathering together with friends and family, will not find ourselves feeling very differently about those celebrations this year. We will be all the more aware of our vulnerability, but also of how much we value one another. At such times, I am sure that we will all keep in our thoughts those who were lost on Friday night and also those who will live on.
I call the constituency member, Sandra White.
14:23
Having attended the scene and spoken to many of the people there, I echo the comments of the First Minister and the leaders of the Opposition parties and I thank everyone for their heartfelt contributions. The tragic incident at the Clutha has affected everyone in my constituency and people beyond, and my sympathies go to all who have lost their lives and their loved ones who grieve for them.
The courage that has been shown by the emergency services and the people of Glasgow is nothing short of heroic, and I pay tribute to every single person. It is said that Glaswegians are resilient—they are, but they are also courageous, as Friday night’s incident has proved, and that courage and resilience will help us through the sad days ahead.
14:25
Everyone has spoken of the extent of the incident and the response. The impact of the incident will be felt most immediately by those who are bereaved, those who have been injured and their families, but it will go much wider. In the speeches today and in speaking to many people in Glasgow, I have been struck that the extent of the impact of such an incident is very wide ranging. What will undoubtedly be the case, as every member who has spoken has said, is that the spirit and solidarity that have been so extraordinarily demonstrated over the past few days will be of huge assistance to us all in the process of recovery that must now take place.
Thank you, First Minister. I intend to have a suspension for a very short period. We will resume at 2.35.
14:25
Meeting suspended.
14:35
On resuming—