Hunt for survivors in deadly Scottish helicopter crash

GLASGOW, Nov 30 (AFP) - At least one person was killed when a police helicopter plunged into a busy Glasgow pub, with the death toll set to rise as rescuers battled to find survivors today.

The chopper smashed into the roof of The Clutha pub, where more than 100 revellers had packed in to watch a band play on Friday night ahead of St. Andrew's Day, Scotland's national day celebrating its patron saint.

Scottish First Minister Alex Salmond called it a "black day" for the nation as emergency service workers tried to make the one- storey building secure enough to permit full access to the scene.

Meanwhile, worried relatives gathered at the police cordon desperate for news of their loved ones.

Police said 32 people had been taken by ambulance to three hospitals across Scotland's biggest city after the helicopter crashed into the city centre bar at 10:25 pm (2225 GMT).

"Sadly I can also confirm one fatality. We expect that number to increase over the coming hours," Police Scotland Chief Constable Stephen House told reporters.

"Given the damage caused and the nature of the damage, it will take some time to complete the search of the building." Asked if there were people still alive trapped inside, House replied: "We can't say that definitively at this moment in time." Witnesses said the helicopter, with two police officers and a civilian pilot on board, dropped like a stone, while people inside the pub heard a heavy thud before the roof caved in and the air filled with dust and screams.

After pubgoers and passers-by did what they could to get the wounded to safety, emergency services worked through the night in a bid to recover people from the wreckage.

An AFP photographer at the scene said the helicopter appeared to have smashed through the top of the bar, with a rotor blade sticking out of the roof.

The site by the River Clyde had been cordoned off, with emergency service workers erecting a tarpaulin over where the helicopter hit.

British Prime Minister David Cameron called it a "tragic event".