Police Helicopter Crashes into Glasgow Pub, 8 Killed

What started out as a relaxing evening involving a couple of beers with friends at a bar in Glasgow, Scotland, turned into a nightmare on Friday evening. A freak accident caused a police helicopter to crash into the roof of a packed Glasgow pub, killing 8 people and injuring 14 more.

The Glasgow pub, The Clutha pub, had over 100 patrons who had been watching a band play on Friday night, according to the Irish Times.  The helicopter crew - two police officers and the civilian pilot - were among those dead found inside the pub.

According to the report, Scottish First Minister Alex Salmond called it a "black day" for the nation as emergency service workers toiled inside the one-storey building to get round the rubble.

Police Scotland Chief Constable Stephen House said the two officers and the civilian pilot aboard the police helicopter and five people inside The Clutha were dead.

 "You can imagine the terror of the situation when a helicopter came through the top of the building," he added. The helicopter has come down and is sitting in the middle of the building. Until the helicopter is out of the way we will not know what is going on under the helicopter. It is dominating the space there."

One eyewitness Willie Bell said he was fortunate to have stepped outside of the bar for a quick cigarette when the accident happened.

"I was standing outside with a few folk and we could hear this loud roar. One woman thought it was a train but then another looked up and saw something falling out the sky," he told the Mirror.

"She screamed it was a meteor and I looked up to see this huge great object smashing on to the roof.

"The noise was so loud my ears started ringing. Everyone started screaming and made their way back inside. The place was covered in dust and thick black smoke. People were lying injured and covered in blood. I haven't stopped shaking."

"There were three of us in the pub and I didn't even think Mark was going to turn up. We got there about 8pm and the pub soon filled up," he added.