Hamilton horse racing abandoned after two camera crew injured in fall from cherrypicker

Horseracing at Hamilton has been abandoned this afternoon after two TV camera personnel were injured after falling from a cherrypicker.

Hamilton Park Racecourse has confirmed that a “major incident” is underway at the track, but would not comment further.

It is understood that the camera staff fell and landed on top of a van, prompting an initial delay of 30 minutes, however racing has now been delayed further.

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The incident happened at the Hamilton Park RacecourseThe incident happened at the Hamilton Park Racecourse
The incident happened at the Hamilton Park Racecourse
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Scottish Ambulance Service and Scottish Fire and rescue Service are on the scene, with two casualties being rescued.

A Scottish Fire and Rescue Service spokesperson said: "We were alerted at 1.35pm on Tuesday, June 29 to an incident at Hamilton Park Racecourse, Hamilton.“Operations Control mobilised two appliances to the scene and using an aerial rescue appliance recovered two male casualties who had fallen onto the roof of a vehicle before handing them into the care of the Scottish Ambulance Service.“Crews remain on the scene.”

A Scottish Ambulance Service spokesperson said: “We received a call at 1.38pm this afternoon to attend an incident at Hamilton Racecourse.

"Two ambulances and two rapid response vehicles were dispatched to the scene.”

Clerk of the course Harriet Graham confirmed the incident involved two RaceTech employees, who operate the cameras on site.

She said: “About half an hour before the first race an incident happened involving RaceTech operators and a hoist.

“Our emergency teams reacted immediately and then we needed to call the fire service and ambulances, so we had three fire engines on site and the police.

“It took them a long time to assess the situation and extract them and take them off to hospital. During this time the timeline became more and more extended.

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“The decision was we would wait for CID to arrive to see if we could continue racing, but they indicated they wouldn’t be making a decision in the short term.

“So, we held a stewards’ inquiry and the decision was made to call off racing. Whilst that is a big decision, we felt we had no timeline for when we could start racing and the main thing is all our thoughts are with the two guys who have gone off to hospital for further assessment. Let’s hope they are OK.

“In the bigger picture racing is secondary in this situation. A nasty accident has happened, two people are injured. They are having the best care they could have and received immediate attention.”

Updates to follow.

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