A worker on the dock where 33 people were injured when a ship tipped over in high winds has said it was “so scary”.
Scaffolder James Walsh said he heard a "loud noise" when the RV Petrel crashed onto its starboard side in a dry dock at Leith Docks in Edinburgh shortly after 8.30am on Wednesday. The ship, believed to be owned by a branch of the US Navy, is now leaning at a precarious 45-degree angle in the dock.
A total of 21 people were taken to hospitals in Edinburgh and Kirkcaldy for treatment. All but eight have either been released or are awaiting discharge; of those still in care, a number are said to have serious injuries.
Speaking to the PA news agency, Mr Walsh, 39, said: “It wasn’t as noisy as you would think, for the catastrophe that it could possibly be. We stopped what we were doing.
"I’m the foreman, so I just evaluated the situation, we were on the docks further up and we were advised we were fine where we were.”
He spoke to one worker he knows on the ship, and said he told them: “He had just put his tool bag down and thought ‘I’m going to nip to the toilet’, went away to the toilet, and he said he doesn’t know where his workmates were.”
He added: “It’s scary. Very scary. Just makes you evaluate everything really. No-one goes to work to be involved in any kind of accident.
"It’s so scary that you go to work and something like that can possibly happen. It’s bad enough having a near accident, that’s scary enough, or a minimal accident, but something like that in this day and age.”
Colin Agnew, 33, who works on the docks, said: “We just heard noise and we wondered what it was and then all of a sudden you were hearing all the police, fire engines, and the ambulance come in. It was crazy because you wouldn’t think you would hear that down by here. It was just crazy.”
Port chaplain Pauline Robertson, from the Sailors’ Society, said the incident was “just horrific” and added: “Those that witnessed it, it’s so much to take in. It’s surreal in so many ways and it’s a lot to process.”
Leith councillor Adam McVey said the ship became dislodged in strong winds. He tweeted: “Terrifying for those on board, my thoughts are with those who’ve been injured & hope everyone recovers quickly. Please avoid area.”
A wind speed of 38mph was recorded in Edinburgh at 8am on Wednesday while a 44mph gust was recorded at 9am, according to Met Office data. The Scottish Ambulance Service said it sent 12 ambulances, an air ambulance and three trauma teams to the dock as part of its large-scale response to the incident.
Police Scotland said all casualties were removed by 1.20pm and officers remain at the scene.
Superintendent Mark Rennie said: “There is no risk to the wider public and inquiries are ongoing to establish the full circumstances of what has happened. The Health and Safety Executive has been informed.”
NHS Lothian earlier said it was “on standby to receive a number of patients” at the A&E department at Edinburgh Royal Infirmary from the scene and urged others not to attend unless in an emergency.
The Petrel was previously owned by the late Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen, but sold by his estate in 2022. Mr Allen had bought the research vessel, which is 76m (250ft) long, to locate historically significant shipwrecks, but the boat had been moored at Leith since September 2020 due to "operational challenges" resulting from the coronavirus pandemic.
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