Nicola Sturgeon speaks at 10 year anniversary of Glasgow Clutha crash

A new BBC ALBA documentary sets out a detailed timeline of that night using moving eyewitness testimony from survivors and emergency service staff involved in the events of that evening.

Among those are Pat O ‘Meara, who was Scottish Ambulance Service Incident Commander on the night.

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He described the situation for his staff inside the pub on Stockwell Street in Glasgow's Merchant City, saying: "It was like working in a mine because you could only get in and out by crawling so the first service were putting in wooden supports to make it as stable as they could possibly make it so that our specialist staff could enter."

Hundreds of police, ambulance and fire service personnel responded to the crash within minutes – making it one of the biggest emergency service responses in Glasgow’s recent history.

Mr O’Meara talks about the "hellish scene" he was faced with on arrival, along with the added complication of providing welfare provision for those working on the scene who knew David Traill, the pilot of the helicopter. General Secretary of the Scottish Police Federation Calum Steele also shares his memories of the unique and personal challenges his colleagues faced on knowing they had lost fellow officers in the accident.

One eyewitness from the Trossachs Search and Rescue team tells of being called in as part of that specialist team with their dogs to scour the back of the pub for any signs of life.

She says: "It was like somebody had closed the door for 30 years and there was a thick layer of dust. There's chaos. There's a helicopter sitting on a very shallow pile of rubble.

"And the smell of stale beer is actually quite heavy in the air.

"I think that was one of those smells I will always carry with me."

Nicola Sturgeon was Depute First Minister at the time of the crash and shares her reflections of a "strange week" following the crash and her memories of drinking in the Clutha Bar as a place to chew over politics.

She said: ""The Clutha was a really special place in Glasgow folklore somewhere that always had a really special atmosphere, a really intimate, friendly atmosphere and it was a Glasgow institution.

"I think for people who liked music but also liked a bit of politics and discussion and chat, which is what appealed to me."

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Ms Sturgeon added: "The emergency services responded instantly but the complexity of that scene very quickly meant there was going to be time and effort required to understand what the lie of the land was and how they would go about a rescue operation.

"I think we've all got a tendency to glamorise and be a bit misty eyed about our home cities but there was a sense of Glasgow putting its arms around itself and everybody affected by the Clutha but it was palpable and tangible and it was a strange week but it was everything people talk about when they think about Glasgow - the warmth of the people, the friendliness of the people, the gallusness, all of that came to the fore."

PCs Tony Collins and Kirsty Nelis were in the aircraft when it crashed and a Fatal Accident Inquiry (FAI) held in front of Sheriff Principal Craig Turnbull found Captain Traill ignored five fuel warnings he received during the flight.

However, family members of the victims disputed the findings, saying they trusted the pilot and his previously impressive record.

One, the widower of PC Nelis, went so far as to call for a fresh independent report by the Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB).

Clutha regular, Mary Kavanagh, who was present at the FAI, lost her partner Robert that night – both shared a deep love of live music and had gone to the Clutha together. Ann Feeney describes how she initially "thought there had been a bomb", while Anne Marie Kennedy, who was working behind the bar on the night describes "feeling like my leg was dangling in the cellar of the Clutha".

She later discovered her leg "snapped" when the helicopter hit the busy pub but she was so disoriented by the scene that she tried to stand up and go back to work before collapsing.

The documentary also makes the case that the Clutha disaster marked a seachange in how social media was used to provide a platform for "citizen journalism".

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Digital data expert, Scott McGready, gives his insight into what was one of the first major incidents in Scotland where citizen journalists were active and journalists explore the way in which the news unfolded through social media and traditional media outlets from the initial 10.22pm crash right through the night. BBC reporter Andrew Kerr explores the new challenge of citizen journalists reporting and sharing events ahead of news outlets.

Clutha owner, Alan Crossan, describes the way in which the incident changed the lives of those involved and has led to a Trust which is now helping young people in Glasgow access the Arts through a series of theatre, music and art projects.

Produced by BEEZR Studios for BBC ALBA, Clutha, will be broadcast on BBC ALBA at 9pm on Wednesday, November 29, 2023, and will also be on the iPlayer for 30 days.