Five of the Glasgow lorry crash victims are female and one is male, police have said.
Ten people were injured in the tragedy, including the driver, and three members of the same family are feared to be among the dead.
Police Scotland said: “Seven casualties were taken to hospital by the ambulance service, two walked in to hospital and one was treated at the scene. Four have since been discharged.
“There are currently six people in hospital being treated for their injuries. Two have been moved to the intensive therapy unit for further monitoring. The deceased include one male and five females.”
A formal identification process will be carried out later on Tuesday.
The accident happened at 2.30pm on Monday in George Square, which was teeming with last-minute Christmas shoppers and visitors to the ice rink and amusements in the city centre square.
Witnesses described a council bin lorry that had been travelling up Queen Street, which bounds the square’s west side, mounting the pavement and scattering pedestrians “like pinballs”. It is thought that the driver may have fallen ill at the wheel.
The driver had two passengers with him at the time of the crash, officials confirmed. They are likely to be key witnesses in the police investigation. It is understood the driver remained in hospital overnight.
Scotland’s first minister, Nicola Sturgeon, said the city woke up “with a broken heart” on Tuesday, as tributes poured in following Monday’s accident and residents struggled to cope with a second major tragedy in just over a year.
Speaking on BBC Scotland’s Good Morning Scotland on Tuesday, Sturgeon said: “As the city wakes up this morning, the sheer sense of horror and grief at what happened will be very raw. All our thoughts, first and foremost, are with those who are waking up as bereaved families this morning. It is almost impossible to imagine what they are going through. I know that everyone across the city, across Scotland, across the UK, will be thinking of them today.
“I think all of us on our televisions were again struck by just how readily people run into a scene of potential danger to help those who have been injured, those who have been affected. There was a sense in the city last night of everybody rallying around.”
Glaswegians leave floral tributes for the victims of the George Square crash https://t.co/ac5oOJoP0a
— Libby Brooks (@libby_brooks) December 23, 2014
She added: “There is something quite incredible about the spirit in this city. Everybody knows it is a city with a big, big heart. This morning it is a city with a broken heart but it will get through this as it got through the Clutha tragedy.”
In November 2013, 10 people lost their lives when a police helicopter crashed into the popular Clutha Vaults pub on the north bank of the river Clyde, not far from Monday’s carnage.
A metal police cordon erected late on Monday remained in place on Tuesday, hiding the scene of the crash from onlookers. A fleet of private ambulances carrying the dead left the area earlier on Tuesday. The Christmas lights have been switched off in George Square and flags on public buildings in the city are flying at half-mast.
A bank of floral tributes was growing outside a sheet metal cordon erected around the crash site. Ian MacLeod came to the scene with three colleagues, one of whom fought back tears. He left a bunch of sunflowers on their behalf. “We work in the red sandstone building nearby and could see it all unfolding out the window.”
Describing the mood in Glasgow as “sombre”, he added: “It’s very sad. I think this place will be covered in flowers by the end of the day.”
Jade Russell, 22, a shop worker from nearby Sauchiehall Street, laid purple carnations at the scene. “I just wanted to pay my respects. It’s a dreadful thing to happen at any time of year but just unbelievable so close to Christmas. The thing about this city is that it really does pull together.”
Nicola Sturgeon salutes the spirit of Glasgow 'a city I am deeply proud to call my home' pic.twitter.com/On5dftTqgw
— Libby Brooks (@libby_brooks) December 23, 2014
Sturgeon arrived at the scene just after 11am on Tuesday. She said that her thoughts were with all the victims of the tragedy and praised the emergency services for their response. “2014 has been an incredible year for this city, but a year bookended by two unimaginable tragedies.
“This city will pull together to support those affected not just in the days ahead but in the weeks and months to come. Glasgow is a city that I am deeply proud to call my home.”
Jim Murphy, newly elected leader of the Scottish Labour party, described the tragedy as “another dark day for the city” as he arrived for a service in memory of the victims at St George’s Tron church.
Rev Stuart Smith tells the congregation at St George's Tron church: side by side, arm in arm, Glasgow is a city united in grief
— Libby Brooks (@libby_brooks) December 23, 2014
Prayers for those involved in the accident were said at the service led by the Rev Alastair Duncan and a book of condolence was opened there.
Police have set up a dedicated email address for members of the public to send pictures, videos or mobile footage of the incident to help them piece together the sequence of events that led to the crash.
The former lord provost of Glasgow Michael Kelly described a “blanket of grief” over the city on Tuesday morning. He told Good Morning Scotland: “It is unbelievable that such a wonderful year for Glasgow generally was bookended by tragedies. Just over 12 months after the Clutha the city is hit with this same kind of public disaster which is going to throw a blanket of grief over the city.”
Glasgow residents banded together in the aftermath of the tragedy, with local bars and restaurants offering soup and sandwiches to the emergency services working through the night and taxi drivers offering free transport to those visiting loved ones in hospital.
