Council vehicle crashes into Millennium Hotel

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The bin lorry crashed outside Queen Street Station in George Square

The bin lorry crashed outside Queen Street Station in George Square

The council vehicle then crashed into the Millennium Hotel, near Queen Street station in George Square, at 14:30.

Eyewitnesses described emergency services battling to save the lives of injured people on the street.

Police Scotland have declared a major incident but said there appeared to be nothing ?sinister? about the crash.

The force has launched a dedicated number ? 01786 289070 ? for anyone who has concerns about relatives or friends.

Police said the bin lorry was travelling north on Queen Street, outside the Gallery of Modern Art, when ?it was in a collision with a pedestrian?.

It then continued north on Queen Street, mounted the pavement and struck a number of other pedestrians, before crashing into the Millennium Hotel at George Square, which is the scene of Glasgow?s annual Christmas festival.

?Out of control?

BBC Scotland?s Laura Bicker said: ?What we have heard from eyewitnesses is that the bin lorry appears to have careered out of control and hit a number of people.

?We?ve also heard from one witness who described the driver of the bin lorry as ?slumped over the wheel?.?

Witness Janey Godley told the BBC News Channel that people were ?getting CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation) on the ground? when she arrived in the square.

?I think I was there just as the ambulances arrived, because there was stuff strewn, debris strewn, all over the street, Christmas shopping all over the street,? she said.

Ms Godley said she saw three people being treated by emergency crews.

She said: ?People were being worked on, people were fighting for their lives on the pavement as shoppers were standing.

?People just like me had arrived on the most shocking scene they ever wanted to see this Christmas. George Square is a square with a fairground and an ice rink and Santa and the tree and everything.?

Ms Godley added: ?It was the most horrible thing to watch all the ambulances and the people in the street, and yet the fairground in the background, and people just in shock.?

She said it was ?an awful tragic thing to happen at this time of year?.

Police said: ?About 1430 hours today, Monday 22 December 2014, a Glasgow City Council bin lorry was travelling north on Queen Street when it appeared to strike pedestrians outside the Gallery of Modern Art before continuing to travel towards George Square, when it crashed at the Millennium Hotel on Queen Street at George Square.

?There have been a number of fatalities and people injured. Emergency services are currently at the scene. Police have declared the scene a major incident.

?All roads in the surrounding area are closed and people are advised to stay away from George Square and make alternative travel arrangements.?

Supt Stewart Carle of Police Scotland said: ?With all the drama, people may be alarmed and believed it to be something other than what we believe it to be.

?It is a road traffic collision with multiple fatalities. It is a terrible incident but we don?t believe there is anything at this juncture that is sinister about the accident.?

Supt Carle said there was a ?multiple agency response? from fire, ambulance and police, as well as Glasgow City Council and other support agencies.

He said ?the seriously injured and the injured have been taken to the three Glasgow major incident sites?.

?We?ve declared a major incident and we?re working with our partners as quickly as possible to resolve the situation and to identify those who have lost their lives and to be there to support their families and next of kin.?

All casualties, including the driver of the bin lorry, have been taken to the Southern General Hospital, Glasgow Royal Infirmary and the Western Infirmary.

?Dreadful incident?

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said: ?My thoughts are with everyone involved in the dreadful George Square incident.?

Prime Minister David Cameron said: ?I?m being kept fully briefed on the major incident in Glasgow. My thoughts are with the families of those involved and the emergency services.?

Glasgow City Council leader Gordon Matheson said: ?This is a terrible tragedy. Our thoughts and prayers are with all those affected.?

Restaurant owner George Smith told BBC Scotland: ?It [the lorry] started from the bottom of Royal Exchange Square and crashed into the wall at the Millennium Hotel.

?A customer walked into our restaurant and told us what happened outside. We walked outside and in the first five minutes the first ambulance arrived.

?The police and ambulance arrived quite fast. I was quite surprised because they were very, very fast.?

Describing the scene on Twitter, Brett Molloy tweeted: ?Whole of George square is shut off, bodies on the road. Scary man.

?Horrible, horrible scenes. Even worse at this time of the year.

?City centre is an eerie, eerie place right now.?

A large number of emergency vehicles are in attendance and roads surrounding George Square have been closed.

A Scottish Fire and Rescue Service spokesman said: ?Firefighters are in attendance at a serious incident on Queen Street.

?We received a 999 call at 2.30pm reporting a collision and currently have five appliances at the scene.

?Our crews are working alongside other emergency responders to conduct a rescue operation.?

A spokeswoman for NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde said: ?Along with all the emergency services, we have an emergency plan that automatically kicks in when there is a major incident.?

BBC

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