Man dies at Edinburgh Haymarket tram stop

A 74-year-old man has died on a tram at Haymarket while on board with his family, as the service experienced a day of drama.

The incident meant trams had to be halted in the city centre. Picture: Comp

Trams were suspended throughout the city centre early yesterday afternoon, as emergency services were called to Haymarket – at the same time as another medical emergency on a tram at York Place was ongoing.

Police have confirmed that the man was local and that he was with relatives when he became unwell and was pronounced dead close to Haymarket station.

They said the cause of death was not clear but people nearby said they believed he may have suffered a heart attack. Trams were only running between Murrayfield and Edinburgh Airport for almost an hour as emergency services attended the incident.

The tram moved off at about 1pm after passengers disembarked and the man had been taken into a waiting ambulance. One source suggested the man may have been given first aid by a fellow passenger after falling ill.

A woman who was waiting at the Haymarket tram stop said she had heard that a man had suffered a heart attack though the cause of death is still to be confirmed.

She said: “Apparently someone has died but I don’t know how or what’s happened, but someone said he may have suffered from a heart attack.”

A man added: “A woman came off the tram with him and is in the back of a police car.”

Police and ambulance were on the scene near Haymarket. Picture: Comp

The tram remained outside Haymarket for about 45 minutes while police investigated. Another tram was left stationary close to Shandwick Place until normal service was resumed.

The area was not cordoned off and other traffic was able to move freely along Shandwick Place, Atholl Place and Morrison Street.

A spokeswoman for Police Scotland said: “Police in Edinburgh were called to Haymarket following reports that a 74-year-old man had become unwell aboard an Edinburgh tram.

“The man was pronounced dead at the scene. The death is currently being treated as unexplained and inquiries into the full circumstances are ongoing. A report will be sent to the procurator fiscal.”

A tram was held at York Place due to an injured passenger. Picture: Paris Gourtsoyannis

A spokesman for Edinburgh Trams said: “We assisted with a medical emergency on board one of our trams at Haymarket. Because of the location of the incident, and to allow emergency services to do their job, the service was operated between the airport and Murrayfield for just under an hour.”

Apology over ambulance delay

The Scottish Ambulance Service will apologise after an injured woman was left waiting for an ambulance on the floor of a tram for three-and-a-half hours.

The woman injured her knee in a fall on the tram at York Place.

An ambulance service spokesman said: “The call was triaged as non-life threatening with a response time of up to an hour. An ambulance was dispatched quickly but had to be diverted to a potential life-threatening emergency.”

He added that crews were “very busy with emergencies” and said: “We will be contacting the patient to apologise.”