It has been five years since 10 people lost their lives in the Clutha helicopter crash.
Tonight, the pub will fall silent to remember those who lost their lives.
Owner Alan Crossan closes the pub as a mark of respect to the 10 people who tragically died on November 29, 2013
“The Clutha belongs to the people of Glasgow, it doesn’t belong to me,” Alan told the Evening Times.
He added: “It is theirs, that accident was part of them – and it ripped a bit of their heart out.
“They feel for it and if someone does something against the Clutha, people go mental.”
READ MORE: Clutha tragedy: Glasgow pays tribute five years on from helicopter crash tragedy
The moment the police helicopter crashed into the Stockwell Street pub is etched in the city’s history. The heroic images of the emergency services effort to rescue those trapped offered Glaswegians comfort and pride.
A fatal accident inquiry is due to be held next year
Alan said: “The families need some answers as to what happened, if they get that then we have done right by them.”
"The memory of what happened that night will always be there through the Clutha Trust, and how we helped and why we helped kids. It is the legacy of it really.
“It is not me who has created this, it is the people of the Clutha who have.
The faces who once stood at the bar of The Clutha, including Benny Lynch and Billy Connolly, now adorn its facade. And although the mural created through an Art Pistol project is now a popular city site, the lasting look of The Clutha is still to be decided. Alan explained the pub’s current state is a temporary solution, although the area where the helicopter crashed will always be closed off.
He said: “On the night of the anniversary we always close. We just shut at 8pm and some people put a candle outside. The long-term (future) of the Clutha is still to be decided and what we will do with it.”
He added: “The Clutha itself will always be there for Glasgow in whatever form.”
You can read the full story from Stacey Mullen on our sister paper The Evening Times
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