Dozens injured after billionaire’s ship topples over in Scotland dockyard

15 people were taken to hospital

Ambulances, police and the fire service all responded to a call of at the Imperial Dock, Leith, on Wednesday (22 March) morning.

The Scottish Ambulance Service said 15 people had been taken to hospital and 10 people were treated at the scene of the incident at Imperial Dock, Leith.

A major incident was declared after 3,000-tonne research vessel RV Petrel became dislodged from its holding on a dry dock, BBC News reports.

People have been asked not to attend A&E at Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh due to the pressure on its services.

In a picture shared by @tomafc83 on Twitter, the ship can be seen leaning at a 45 degree angle.

The Scottish Ambulance Service said it had been called to the incident at 08:29.

"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," it said.

"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."

In a tweet, local councillor Adam McVey labelled the incident "terrifying for those on board."

He wrote: "Emergency services are responding to a major incident at Leith docks- a ship has been dislodged from its holding in strong winds.

"Terrifying for those on board, my thoughts are with those who’ve been injured & hope everyone recovers quickly. Please avoid area."

The ship was owned by the estate of Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen, and had previously been used to for deep water searches for shipwrecks before it was placed into long-term moorage during the Covid pandemic.

Allen died in 2018, but pledged most of his fortune to philanthropy and non-profit scientific research.

Dales Marine Services, which runs the dry dock, said it had no comment.

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