Park rescue drama as fireworks light up city

Published on Monday 7 September 2009 09:38

TWO teenagers were hospitalised with head and facial injuries after apparently climbing rocky terrain in Holyrood Park in pitch black conditions to get a view of the festival fireworks.

The boys, both aged 15, had to be stretchered down from St Anthony's Chapel by Lothian and Borders Fire and Rescue line rescue crews, assisted by the Holyrood Park Ranger Service.

They were taken to the Edinburgh Royal Infirmary by ambulance following the rescue, which took place at 9:20pm yesterday.

Around 200,000 spectators turned out to watch the fireworks, but with the Ross Theatre bandstand and Princes Street Gardens restricted to ticketholders and Princes Street itself closed by tram works, most were forced to find alternative vantage points.

The city council had warned spectators not to go near Princes Street, and set up enhanced viewing facilities on Calton Hill and in Inverleith Park.

Police had some difficulty keeping traffic moving on George Street as they struggled to contain spectators who had gathered around Castle Street, Frederick Street and Hanover Street to watch the show.

The two teenagers are thought to have been trying to find their own view of the event.

A spokeswoman for Lothian and Borders Fire and Rescue Service said: "We received a call that the boys had become stuck at St Anthony's Chapel.

"Although they were not physically trapped, it appears that they couldn't find their way back down in the dark. It is not entirely clear why they were up there, but it is thought they went up to get a view of the fireworks.

"Line rescue crews stretchered the boys down with the assistance of the Holyrood Park Rangers."

A Scottish Ambulance Service spokesman said: "We attended to two boys, both in their mid-teens, both of whom were taken to hospital.

"One of the boys has head and facial injuries, while the other had suffered head injuries. It is presently unclear how they sustained these injuries."

For those that did manage to get a good view of the fireworks concert, it was a night to remember.

The Scottish Chamber Orchestra and Chorus accompanied the stunning visual display with the music of German composer Handel, to mark the 250th anniversary of his death.

The show culminated in a rendition of Handel's best known work, the Hallelujah Chorus from Messiah, as the crowds looked to the heavens to see the final explosions fill the sky.

Last week's torrential rain did not return to spoil the show, with the few splashes of rain that fell alongside the ashes of spent fireworks only fulfilling their threat with a heavy downpour within minutes of its conclusion.