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19 March 2024

Garbage truck runs over X-Mas shoppers

A garbage truck has ploughed into a group of pedestrians in Glasgow, killing six people. (AFP)

Published
By AFP

Six people have been killed and eight others injured in Glasgow, when a garbage truck ploughed into crowds of Christmas shoppers in what appeared to be a tragic accident.

One eyewitness described the vehicle knocking people down ‘like pinballs’ as it veered out of control over a distance of around 300 metres, only stopping when it crashed into a hotel.

"Sadly six people have died as a result of the George Square major road incident," read a tweet on the Scottish police force's official account.

(Getty Images)

Police superintendent Stewart Carle told reporters at the scene that people were killed over "a number of sites".

He said the driver, who reported by some British media to have slumped at the wheel and perhaps to have suffered a heart attack, was being treated in hospital.

"The bin lorry just lost control. It went along the pavement, knocking everyone like pinballs," eyewitness Melanie Greig told Sky News.

"People were trying to run out of the way but when something was coming out behind them like that, how can they run out of the way?" she said.

(Getty Images)

"It was just horrific."

The rubbish truck, owned by Glasgow City Council, mounted the pavement and hit the first pedestrian outside the Gallery of Modern Art on Queen Street at about 2.30pm, police said.

It struck several more as it continued at speed for another two blocks, crashing at the Millennium Hotel on George Square, near Queen Street station.

Emergency services cordoned off the normally bustling area in what is Scotland's biggest city.

(Getty Images)

Scottish police said there was nothing "sinister" about the Glasgow incident, calling it an accident.

Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon called it a "sad day for Glasgow and Scotland".