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Ninth Body Pulled From Helicopter Crash Site In Scotland

Scottish Fire and Rescue services look on at the helicopter being lifted from the scene Monday following the crash at the Clutha Bar in Glasgow, Scotland.
AP
Scottish Fire and Rescue services look on at the helicopter being lifted from the scene Monday following the crash at the Clutha Bar in Glasgow, Scotland.

We've been following the story of the helicopter that crashed into a pub in Glasgow, Scotland, last week. There's more news Monday on the deadly crash: A ninth body has been pulled from the wreckage of The Clutha Bar.

Three people on board the helicopter were killed, along with at least six others in the pub. Dozens of people were injured. The Guardian reports that rescue workers were making a final search of the debris to make sure no more bodies were inside the bar.

"Of course, we hope that there's nobody else in there, but before we can confirm that we need to be double, double sure," David Goodhew, the Scottish fire and rescue service operation commander, told the newspaper.

Here's more from The Guardian:

"On Monday, a second of the six customers killed in the crash was named as Samuel McGhee, 56, of Glasgow. He is believed to have been sitting next to one of the men missing since the crash, the poet and writer John McGarrigle, 59.

"As other relatives expressed frustration at the speed of the recovery operation, McGarrigle's son, also John, visited the site on Monday to press home his demands for help from the police.

"He had been seeking confirmation that his father's remains were there since Friday night, but police had been unable to confirm that because of the difficulties of recovering bodies from the ruins."

The smashed Eurocopter EC135 helicopter was lifted out of the wreckage Monday. It's still not clear what caused the crash late Friday. The BBC reported that the helicopter did not make a mayday call.

David Miller, deputy chief inspector of Air Accident Investigations, said there was no data recorder on board and that there was no explosion or fire, according to an Associated Press report.

Family members of those still missing say the recovery effort appears to be more focused on getting the helicopter out.

"I want my dad out of there," said John McGarrigle, the writer's son. "It's like a piece of machinery is more important than the people underneath there."

In addition to McGhee, officials have identified four others who died in the crash: pub customer Gary Arthur, 48; and the three occupants of the helicopter: the civilian pilot David Traill, 51, and police constables Kirsty Nelis, 36, and Tony Collins, 43.

Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Krishnadev Calamur is NPR's deputy Washington editor. In this role, he helps oversee planning of the Washington desk's news coverage. He also edits NPR's Supreme Court coverage. Previously, Calamur was an editor and staff writer at The Atlantic. This is his second stint at NPR, having previously worked on NPR's website from 2008-15. Calamur received an M.A. in journalism from the University of Missouri.
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