RV Petrel incident in Leith – 15 taken to hospital
Fifteen people have been taken to hospital after an incident in Leith Docks at 8.30am this morning. A further 10 people have been released after treatment at the scene.
The RV Petrel is now lying at a 45 degree angle in Imperial Dry Dock after an incident this morning which may be linked to the strong winds.
A spokesman for Scottish Ambulance Service said: “We received a call at 0829 hours today to attend an incident in Leith. We have dispatched five ambulances, an air ambulance, three trauma teams, our special operations team (SORT), three Paramedic Response Units (PRU) and one patient transport vehicle. We transported 15 patients to hospital; 11 to Edinburgh Royal Infirmary and four to Western General Hospital. A further 10 patients were treated and discharged at the scene.”
Edinburgh residents have been advised against attending A&E meantime if they can seek treatment elsewhere:
The 250 feet long research vessel is registered to Microsoft co-founder, Paul Allen.
An eye witness said that this particular boat has been in and out of the docks over recent weeks, apparently having some work done on it.
Scottish Greens Lothian MSP Lorna Slater said: “My team and I are monitoring events very closely. Images of such a large ship in dry dock leaning at 45 degree angle is very concerning.
“I understand that around 25 people have been injured in some way, with around 15 of them now in hospital. My thoughts are with them and others impacted by what must have been a terrifying experience.
“Because of the nature of the incident there will clearly be a level of disruption for locals and for people travelling in and around the Leith area.
“I would ask people to exercise patience and where they can seek alternative routes to allow first responders and other agencies to go about their work.
“Our thanks go to the emergency services and other agencies who are working to deal with this and to assess the situation moving forward.”
