Glasgow Clutha Pub Crash: Ninth Body Recovered as Fifth Victim Named as Samuel McGhee

A ninth body has been recovered from the wreckage of the Clutha Vaults pub in Glasgow where a police helicopter crashed on 29 November.

Meanwhile a fifth victim has been identified, 56-year-old Samuel McGhee, from Glasgow.

Police have also named Samuel McGhee, 56, from Glasgow as the fifth person to have died in the crash.

Police have previously named four victims: constables Tony Collins, 43 and Kirsty Neils, 36, as well as pilot David Traill and 48-year-old Gary Arthur.

As the rescue operation continues, police said they cannot rule out the possibility there will be more bodies discovered from the wreckage of the crash at the city centre pub.

Dept chief const Rose Fitzpatrick said: "The site is extremely challenging and the efforts of colleagues from the Scottish fire and rescue service and investigators have been painstaking.

"I can confirm that sadly a further body has tonight been located and removed from the scene."

She added: "Our thoughts are with his family and friends tonight as they are with all those affected by this tragedy."

The daughter of Arthur paid tribute to her father on Twitter. Chloe Arthur, who plays football for the Celtic and Scotland women's teams, wrote: "You'll always mean the world to me, I promise to do you proud, I love you with all my heart."

A special service for the victims of the crash was held at Glasgow Cathedral. Justice secretary Kenny MacAskilla and deputy first minister Nicole Sturgeon were among those in attendance.

Fitzpatrick defended the amount of time it has taken to reveal the names of the people who were killed in the pub after the helicopter "dropped like a stone" from the sky.

"Our absolute priority has been to locate the bodies of people who were within the pub at the time of the incident and recover them safely," she said. "This process takes time, as formal identification procedures have to take place before we can notify relatives and publicly confirm identities.

"We are doing all we can to support the families of those who have lost loved ones. It is essential that we maintain sensitivity and dignity for the families of the deceased."

The pub was holding a live gig at the time of the accident and it is believed more than 100 people were inside. Of the 32 people injured in the crash, 12 remain in hospital with three in intensive care.

An investigation is underway to determine what caused the helicopter to crash. Police Scotland chief constable Sir Stephen House said: "Until the helicopter is completely removed from the scene and the right people are in the premises and are able to look through the rubble completely and start to clear it, we cannot say about exact numbers.

"No one will be putting pressure on them in terms of time but things are proceeding, we are making progress and I know that people want to be reassured of that.

"It may appear that it's not going as fast as people want. The answer is its painstaking and it's important that everything there is treated with the courtesy and respect it deserves."

A similar police helicopter, EC135, crashed in 2002 in Ayrshire, but all the people on board escaped.