Edinburgh city centre mortuary forced to close after 'chemical odour' incident

A mortuary in Edinburgh city centre was forced to close after emergency services were made aware of a chemical odour.

Police, the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service and the Scottish Ambulance Service attended the building in the Cowgate area of the capital after being made aware of the smell at around 10am on Tuesday.

The morgue, found at 297 Cowgate, has been forced to close as emergency services confirmed they were still in attendance on Wednesday.

Police said there have been no reports of any injuries and the smell carries no threat to the public.

A Police Scotland spokesperson said: “Around 10.50am on Tuesday, October 18, police received a report of a chemical odour within an area of a building in Cowgate, Edinburgh.

“Emergency services are in attendance dealing with the matter and enquiries are ongoing.

“The area of the building has been closed off and there are no reports of anyone being affected. There is no threat to the wider public.”

A Scottish Fire and Rescue Service spokesperson said: “We were alerted at 10.13am on Tuesday, October 18 to an incident at Cowgate, Edinburgh.

“Operations Control mobilised two fire appliances and specialist resources to the area and firefighters assisted emergency service partners. Crews are currently still in attendance.”