A north bar manager was blown across the room in Glasgow’s Clutha bar when a police helicopter crashed through its roof.
Mark Phimister thought a bomb had gone off in the popular riverside music venue as dust and debris flew moments after the aircraft crashed into it.
The 30-year-old was uninjured, but has been left traumatised by the accident, which left many of his friends and colleagues badly hurt.
His relatives were unaware of the crash when he contacted them to tell them he was all right, but were left horrified as the full scale of the incident started to unfold.
It is understood the police helicopter had been used in an operation in the Inverness area on Friday, just hours before the crash, and it has also been involved in high-profile investigations in Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire recently.
Mr Phimister, 30, who is from Inverness, has worked at the Clutha for a year, but was not on duty on Friday night.
He had visited the bar to speak to his boss and had been there for only half an hour when he went outside for a breath of fresh air.
As he went back into the pub, the helicopter landed on its roof.
Yesterday, Mr Phimister was travelling to the Highland capital for his father’s funeral, which will be held today.
A family spokeswoman said he was “traumatised” by the crash and very distressed because a number of his friends and colleagues had been injured.
They included a female bar worker who was badly hurt but is now recovering in hospital.
The spokeswoman said the family had not heard about the accident when Mr Phimister phoned to say he was unhurt.
However, she added that they were “horrified” when they learned about the extent of the crash.
Mr Phimister told them he had been blown across the room and was covered in debris and dust.
But amazingly, he was uninjured.
The spokeswoman said: “They are grieving as a family at the moment, so they have an idea of how people are feeling.
“Their thoughts go out to everyone involved.”
It is understood that the helicopter that crashed was in the Inverness area on Friday.
It is thought it may have been helping with missing-persons inquiries, although the police were unable to confirm that.
A force spokeswoman said: “An Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) investigation is currently under way.
“The AAIB has primacy at the moment and we are not able to confirm specific helicopter deployments on that day.”
Last month, a man was arrested in Aberdeen in connection with a string of offences across the north and north-east following a dramatic air and land pursuit.
The police helicopter was used to support a team of specialist officers on the ground during the operation.
The man was detained in connection with alleged drug and driving offences in Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire and Moray, as well as several alleged house-breaking incidents in the Inverness area.
The aircraft has also been used to track down car thieves in the north-east and last month a Jaguar XF worth £80,000 was recovered as part of the ongoing Operation Ruby.
Yesterday, the recovery operation continued at the Clutha, where eight people died.
Teams were beginning to remove the wreckage of the helicopter from the building.
Police also named the three occupants of the aircraft who died in the incident.
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