At least 8 dead in police helicopter crash onto Glasgow pub roof (VIDEO)

GlobalPost
Updated on

A police helicopter slammed into the roof of a pub in Glasgow, Scotland on Friday night, killing at least eight people and injuring more than two dozen.

The Associated Press is reporting that all three aboard the police chopper are dead, as well as five others found inside the pub.

The number of fatalities is expected to rise.

The crash at the Clutha Vaults pub in the Scottish city occurred at 22:25 on Friday, the eve of St. Andrew's Day, as pub-goers gathered to listen to Esperanza, a popular ska band.

Three people were on board the Eurocopter EC135 T2 ,while about 120 people were inside of the pub, according to the BBC.

More from GlobalPost: Helicopter crashes into Seoul apartments

First minister for Scotland Alex Salmond used Twitter to steel his constituency for the worst: 

Scottish Labour MP Jim Murphy was at the scene at a nearby pub, and said that he knew it was "obvious something bloody awful had happened," according to his interview with the Mirror. 

Murphy helped to form a human chain that pulled people from the wreckage of the smoking pub. 

"We're obviously very concerned about what casualties have been sustained in the incident," said eyewitness Fraser Gibson to the BBC, a former member of Esperanza — which has expressed its distress over the incident on its Facebook page. 

"There were no signs (of a helicopter) at all, said Gibson."The roof had just totally collapsed, there were shards of wood sticking out the top but nothing that said there had been a helicopter crash."

There is little information about what caused the crash, although a witness reported that he had heard a police helicopter flying low for some time before the incident took place, according to the Telegraph. 

The pub is near a helipad on the riverbank.

Sign up for our daily newsletter

Sign up for The Top of the World, delivered to your inbox every weekday morning.