SCOTLAND'S newly reorganised police and fire services could hardly have faced a tougher challenge than the Glasgow helicopter crash.

But within minutes of the aircraft pitching through the roof of the Clutha Vaults at 10.25pm on Friday, officers from both services, as well as ambulance staff, were active on site.

For the police, knowing three colleagues had been on board the Eurocopter EC135, the operation made it especially fraught.

There was also an unofficial fourth emergency service involved - the people of Glasgow.

Acting instinctively as first ­responders in the search for survivors, a series of bystanders, revellers, and people driving by rushed to the pub to help, despite the obvious risk of a fireball from the grounded helicopter.

It would have been a "terrifying moment" and "particularly dangerous", as the Chief Constable of Police Scotland, Sir Stephen House, later put it, but members of the public pressed on.

As part of the collective effort that defined the aftermath of the crash, the Holiday Inn Express hotel on the other side of Stockwell Street began taking in the wounded and became a makeshift base for emergency staff. Glasgow Central Mosque, due south of the Clutha over the Clyde, offered to open its doors.

By midnight, Strathclyde Fire and Rescue Service had declared a "major incident", and sent 15 engines to the scene along with specialist services to try to stabilise the building and extricate those trapped by debris.

In the end 125 firefighters from as far afield as Falkirk and Dundee took part.

The Scottish Ambulance Service also confirmed it had dispatched "multiple ambulance crews" and a special operations team, while the UK Government sent the Scottish Government an offer of help.

The "major incident" designation activated longstanding NHS Glasgow plans, with those medical staff on duty warned to expect significant casualties and others called in from home to cope with the extra demand.

The Clutha is barely a mile from Glasgow Royal Infirmary, Scotland's busiest accident and emergency unit, but the Western Infirmary in the west end and the Victoria Infirmary south of the Clyde were used in the operation. Before the end of the night, the three sites would received 32 casualties between them.

Emergency services were ­co-ordinated by Police Scotland from the police station in Govan's Helen Street.

There it quickly became clear all the skills of the various services were needed.

The interior of the pub was dominated by the hanging remains of the helicopter, making it tortuous to explore.

Gary Hardacre of the Scottish Ambulance Service, later said all eight fatalities were pronounced dead on the scene.

An investigation into the circumstances of the crash is now being conducted by the police under the direction of the Crown Office and the Air Accident Investigation Bureau.

Brian Docherty, chairman of the Scottish Police Federation, said messages of support and condolences in respect of the three helicopter crew - two police and their civilian pilot - had been received from round the world, including Australia, New Zealand and Canada.

Thanking all the emergency and NHS staff, as well as the "great people of Glasgow", he said: "Our members are unfortunately all to used to dealing with tragedy and delivering bad news but that they performed their duties so effectively in the face of the knowledge they were dealing with the likely deaths of one of our own, is a testament to their sheer professionalism and is a credit to the whole of the police service."

The Rev Gordon Armstrong, the fire service's Church of Scotland chaplain, said those who had been part of the rescue would need time to come to terms with what they had been through.

"For me the most poignant moment was about three o'clock in the morning, in the midst of all of this, when there was silence," he told the BBC.

"There were groups of professionals standing around very much in silence …quite eerie. That's when you reflect. These are the times when we all become quite emotional."

Members of the public who helped at the scene would also suffer a delayed reaction, he said. "I would imagine that well after the event, these waves of shock will hit.

"Now is the time when we need to be aware of the aftermath of this, when people realise what could have happened, what has happened, and indeed for some people how lucky they were."

House said yesterday the rescue and recovery operation at the Clutha is likely to go on for days, along with stabilisation of the building.

"This is a complex and ongoing rescue operation," he said. "It will not be a quick operation. It is a very complicated and indeed dangerous scene.

"Our thoughts and condolences are very much with the families of those who have died and those who have been injured in this tragic incident.

"We are working alongside our emergency services colleagues in the ongoing rescue operation."

At the same press conference, Deputy First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said: "I want to take the opportunity to thank from the bottom of my heart, and I know this will be echoed by people across the country, the police, the fire service, and the ambulance service, who were on scene very quickly last night and have been working through the night and into the day.

Alasdair Hay, Scotland's chief fire officer, said: "This is a very challenging, very complex and very difficult rescue situation. The Scottish Fire and Rescue service will remain here throughout working with our colleagues to ensure that we do everything that we possibly can to recover the casualties and rescue where appropriate."

Hardacre of the Scottish Ambulance Service said ambulance staff who work with helicopter crews at Glasgow and Inverness bases have been rested, and contingency arrangements have been put in place.

Additional reporting by Rachel Loxton