‘Lucky’ escape for Pokémon fans after masonry reportedly falls on Edinburgh street
Reports coming in of masonry fall close to crowd of Pokémon fans queuing outside Toys Galore
A busy Edinburgh street was temporarily closed on Friday morning following local reports that masonry had crashed to the pavement near a queue of shoppers waiting for a Pokémon launch.
The Evening News understands the incident occurred outside the Premier convenience store and close to the Toys Galore shop on Morningside Road, shortly before 9.30am.
A Scottish Fire and Rescue Service spokesperson confirmed the incident and said no one had been injured in the incident.
They said: “We were alerted at 9.34am on Friday, 24 April, to reports that masonry had fallen onto a public footpath on Morningside Road in Edinburgh.
“Operations Control mobilised one fire appliance and a high reach appliance to the area. There were no reported casualties.
“Crews checked the building and the surrounding area and ensured it was safe before leaving the scene at 11.46am.”
Speaking to the Evening News, Mandy Johnston, store manager at Toys Galore, said the shop had drawn a large crowd of customers who luckily avoided any falling debris.
"We had an event on this morning, a Pokémon launch, so with a big queue, but luckily, the queue was going down the opposite way down towards Morningside station and then we just heard a crash and a bit of masonry fell off one of the tenements further up," she said.
"We wondered what it was, I thought it was a crash at first but it was obviously just the concrete hitting the pavement.
"It’s the first time I’ve ever heard of it, I’ve never heard or seen it before."
It’s understood that the fire service attended the scene to inspect the suspected masonry fall and secure the area.
One eyewitness, Miriam, a volunteer with a nearby charity shop, said she heard “a loud clatter” as the masonry hit the ground.
She said: “There’s a shop there that’s popular with kids and a bank machine directly underneath where it fell. Someone could have been killed.”
A spokesperson for the City of Edinburgh Council confirmed that the local authority's shared repair service attended and made the area safe.
Writing on the I Love Morningside Facebook group, local Karina Reinhardt posted: "Just been speaking to a fireman and they’re about to close off Morningside Road because some masonry has fallen from one of the top flats just above Nikos/Toys Galore. They need to close the road to get up to it."
Lothian Buses confirmed diversions were put in place for the 11, 15, 16 and 36 routes on X, formerly Twitter, at 10.14am.
The road has since been reopened to traffic and local businesses are trading as normal, with fire crews reported to still be at the scene.
Image submissions: Thanks to Breaking News & Crime in Edinburgh, The Lothians & Fife
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