Three members of the same family feared to be among six dead after bin lorry smashes into Christmas shoppers in Glasgow city centre leaving trail of carnage in its wake
- Council bin lorry crashed in city centre square shortly after 2.30pm
- Witnesses said the truck was out of control and ploughed into pedestrians
- Feared three members of the same family were among the dead
- The area, close to busy Christmas marked was packed with shoppers
- Shopper said people were knocked down ‘like pinballs’
- She also said ‘baby in a buggy’ and ‘two little kids’ caught up in the panic
- Lorry travelled for up to 200 yards before crashing into a hotel
- Police confirm six dead and eight people were injured in crash
- Woman in her twenties was first hit, and two women hit near pizzeria
- Vehicle was picking up rubbish from restaurants and shops at the time
- Officers have not confirmed reports driver suffered heart attack or seizure
- First Minister calls tragedy ‘another sad day for Glasgow and Scotland’
Horror descended on Glasgow yesterday as an out-of-control bin lorry ploughed into Christmas shoppers, leaving six dead and eight injured.
The truck mounted a pavement crammed with pedestrians and careered into them before thundering towards the city’s main square where more people were hit.
Last night it was feared three members of the same family were among the dead, while witnesses said a baby in a buggy and young children were caught up in the chaos.
The vehicle finally stopped after slamming into the Millennium Hotel on George Square, next to the entrance of the city’s Queen Street Station, leaving a trail of carnage behind it.
Flowers were placed at the scene overnight and a service of prayers will be held for those who died later today. Flags in the city hung at half mast this morning.
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Six people have died and eigh are injured after a bin lorry crashed onto a crowded pavement near a busy square and station in Glasgow city centre
A police tent set up at the scene, which was roped off with a number of emergency vehicles in attendance
Flowers have been placed at the scene overnight. The cause of the crash is not immediately clear, but police have said it was not a terrorism-related incident, and ‘nothing more sinister’ than a fatal traffic accident
The Bishop of Glasgow and Galloway, the Very Rev Dr Gregor Duncan, places flowers at the scene
The Bishop (right) will lead a service of prayers for those who lost their lives later this morning
The cause of the crash was still being investigated last night, but police have said it was not a terrorism-related incident, and ‘nothing more sinister’ than a fatal traffic accident.
Clearly dead victims lay in pools of blood, their Christmas shopping spilled on the pavements beside them, as screams filled the air. One minute the square was awash with last-minute gift-hunters and children enjoying a festive fun fair; the next, it was a disaster area.
Last night it was thought the lorry driver may have lost control after suffering a heart attack or a seizure. Some witnesses reported seeing him slumped over the wheel. He was among eight people taken to hospital, some of them reportedly seriously hurt.
The Glasgow City Council bin lorry had been travelling north on the city’s Queen Street at around 2.30pm when the driver appeared to lose control of it.
The council said it was a commercial waste collection truck which was on its usual round, picking up rubbish from shops and restaurants at the time.
Witnesses said it mounted the pavement outside the Gallery of Modern Art, close to the iconic Duke of Wellington statue, hitting the first pedestrian, a woman in her twenties there.
It then appeared to accelerate, knocking people down ‘like skittles’, striking two women at a pizzeria and further people down the street.
How the horror unfolded: 1) Bin lorry is travelling north along Queen Street when it mounts pavement. 2) A woman in her twenties is hit close to the Duke of Wellington statue. 3) Two women are hit near La Vita Pizzeria in Queen Street, while several other people are struck further along the road. 4) The lorry careers through traffic lights and across St Vincent’s Place. 5) It hits a silver Skoda taxi, knocking it across the road at the entrance to Queen Street station. 6) In this picture taken from inside the railway station, the Skoda and bin lorry are seen when they come to rest
Glasgow City Council switched off the Christmas lights in George Square last night as a mark of respect
Tragedy: The area was busy with shoppers and children heading to a funfair. Pictured, the lights switched off
Investigation: Emergency services remained at the scene of the carnage late into the night
Some were able to dive out of its path into shop doorways. But others did not even realise what was happening until it was too late.
The bin lorry then veered back onto the road and careered through red lights as it travelled past the enormous ferris wheel and merry-go-round at the western end of George Square. It also hit a silver taxi outside Queen Street station.
The truck is thought to have hit more people waiting to cross the road outside the Millennium Hotel before crashing into it and finally stopping.
The area was busy with shoppers and children heading to a Christmas funfair at the time.
Investigations into the incident are still in the very early stages, but one element experts will examine is how the vehicle travelled around 328 yards in an almost straight line before it came to rest.
‘We can confirm that six people have died as a result,’ said a Police Scotland statement; ‘Emergency services are currently at the scene.’
Witnesses say the truck was out of control as it entered George Square and ploughed into pedestrians. Pictured right is a police officer taking a bunch of flowers to lay at the crash site
Police officers watch over a growing number of floral tributes left at the crash site in the wake of the tragedy
The force added: ‘Eight people receiving treatment for their injuries across three Glasgow city hospitals. We will update further when we can.’
It is believed some of the fire crews who attended the scene were those who were at the nearby Clutha bar just over a year ago, when ten people died in a helicopter crash.
All roads in the surrounding area were immediately sealed off and people were told to stay away from George Square, and to let their families know they were safe.
All of the casualties, including the lorry driver, were taken to the Southern General Hospital, Glasgow Royal Infirmary and the Western Infirmary.
Assistant Chief Constable Wayne Mawson, Local Policing Commander for the West, said investigations into what caused the crash were ongoing.
‘We can however confirm that this is not a terrorism-related incident,’ he said.
Last night, police continued to investigate the tragedy as emergency workers, their efforts poignantly lit by Christmas lights, began to clear up around the scene.
The lights in George Square were later switched off as a mark of respect.
Emergency services close to the stricken lorry, which also appeared to have hit this car before coming to a halt at the hotel
Shoppers in Glasgow were being advised to contact their families and tell them they were safe
Rescue workers at the scene of the horror crash last night. Police have confirmed six people died
Glasgow City Council said it had considered turning off the lights after the incident, but had been asked by police to leave them on to help illuminate work on the investigation.
A growing number of floral tributes were placed close to the crash site as well-wishers paid their respects to the dead.
Chief Inspector Mark Sutherland said: ‘We are going through the investigation stage to try to establish what happened. It’s too early to say when the lorry will be moved.
‘We will take our time to establish what happened but we will also try to clear the area as soon as we can.
‘The area is busy with shoppers so yes, it could always have been worse, but six people are dead and that’s very serious.’
At the time of the crash, the square had been filled with shoppers and families enjoying a Christmas ice rink and fairground. The attractions have now been closed, along with the rest of the square.
Witnesses reported seeing injured people strewn across the street as bystanders rushed to help them. Some have claimed the driver suffered a heart attack and had been seen slumped over the wheel, while others said he may have experienced some sort of seizure.
Police could not say whether the lorry driver was ill before the crash but said he is being treated at hospital.
Shopper Melanie Greig told Sky News: ‘The lorry just lost control, it just went along the pavement knocking people down like pinballs. There was a baby in a buggy, there were two little kids. It travelled for 150 or 200 yards.’
Police were unable to say if any children were among the casualties, but a spokesman said there had been families in the area at the time.
The incident, on the first day of the Christmas holidays, was witnessed by hundreds of people.
Mobile phone footage recorded loud screams as the vehicle ploughed its devastating path.
One witness, Shirin Abdyedner, 20, a trainee nurse, said: ‘We came down the street and there were people just lying everywhere. The lorry was crashed into the train station and there were people covered in white sheets.
‘There was a man lying with his bag of shopping beside him. He was dead.’
She added: ‘I’m a nurse and wanted to see if I could help people out but there was nothing I could do. There were just so many people lying in the street crying. I didn’t know what to do except cry. I was just crying.’
Another witness, Must Adama, was driving behind the bin lorry and saw the disaster unfold.
The refuse lorry hit a taxi before it ploughed into the wall of the Millennium Hotel
‘I thought he was indicating to pull over and get the bins but he wasn’t,’ she said. ‘He just went up into the pavement and hit the first girl, then kept going.
‘He just hit them all. I stopped and screamed and was crying. I wanted to help people but there was nothing I could do. He just kept going and hit more people. He must have been going about 40mph.’
Clearly traumatised, she continued: ‘I keep seeing it. If I sit I’ll see it. I feel sick. I want to be sick. I saw the people dead. They are dead.’
Business student Nicole MacLachlan (left) saved the life of sister Ashley (right) by pushing her out of the lorry’s path
Business student Nicole MacLachlan saved the life of sister Ashley by pushing her out of the lorry’s path. ‘It will live with us for ever,’ she said.
Witness, Ewan Little, 15, was walking along the pavement when the lorry suddenly loomed behind him.
‘I felt something push my arm from behind,’ he said. ‘I had no idea what it was and then the person in front of me was on the ground. The lorry had come right up into the pavement and hit her, then it just kept going faster and hitting people.
‘One minute people were walking and then they were on the ground. There were people screaming and running to get out of the way.’
Shaking violently, he added: ‘If I had been just a bit in front it would have knocked me over. It was terrifying.’
A mother who was walking her two children fainted after she pulled the pram out of the lorry’s path with only a split-second to spare. Another young woman was seen staggering to her feet after being knocked down by the lorry. Then she collapsed again, bleeding profusely.
Student Reece Miller from Motherwell, Lanarkshire, spoke of seeing ‘lots of bodies’ on the ground. One woman, he said, was lying covered by a blanket while her family wept. He assumed she was dead.
Anjan Luthra, 23, who was getting his lunch in George Square when he saw the truck. He said: ‘It happened in seconds. I will never forget the bodies, they were so badly hurt and injured. They had been crushed, flattened by the lorry.
‘I caught a glimpse of the lorry driver, he was slumped to his left over the wheel.
Superintendent for Road Policing Division Stewart Carle said he estimated the bin lorry continued for roughly 300m along the pavement after striking the first pedestrian
‘There were men and women in the street, elderly people who would not have had time to get out of the way. There were children who were very distressed seeing it. There were people just sitting by the bodies crying. It was the worst thing I have seen. These were ordinary people going shopping and they didn’t make it home.’
Some shoppers rushed to the aid of victims and were performing CPR before the first ambulances arrived.
Within minutes, dozens of emergency vehicles were in attendance and many surrounding roads were closed.
David Lyon grabbed his girlfriend to get her out of the way of the lorry
Then, for many, the screams gave way to bewilderment, helplessness and trauma.
Comedian and writer Janey Godley was in Glasgow city centre doing her Christmas shopping like thousands of others when she witnessed the aftermath of the bin lorry crash.
The 53-year-old said she felt ‘horrific’ for the families of those caught up in the accident but praised the emergency services and the people of Glasgow.
Describing the scene at George Square, she said: ‘At the side of the pavement the traffic poles were absolutely flattened so I knew that a vehicle had mounted the pavement.
‘There were people on the ground being worked on by the emergency services.
‘There was a lot of debris and Christmas shopping scattered all around so it was quite a distressing sight for everyone.
‘As soon as I walked onto the scene I spoke to a shopkeeper who said a bin lorry had mounted the pavement and crushed a taxi so I knew immediately it was a road accident.’
She added: ‘It’s such a horrific, dense corner for that to happen.
‘In the background you had the (carnival) swing still going in George Square. It was a very surreal image.
‘People were on the road and their families will be distressed to know they were lying on the street but the emergency services were doing an amazing job.’
Ms Godley said: ‘This was the only day I could get out shopping and I don’t need my Christmas shopping now.
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