Johnnie Walker Experience incident: Workman taken to hospital after being injured on construction site

The man is understood to have suffered broken ribs in the incident after becoming trapped while installing a low-level lift, but was freed by colleagues.

A spokesperson for the Scottish Ambulance Service said: “We received a call at 15.09 on 24 August 2021 to attend an incident at the Johnnie Walker building on Princes Street, Edinburgh.

The incident happened at the new Johnnie Walker centre. Picture: Lisa Ferguson Johnnie Walker new visitor centre, Princes Street, Edinburgh

“Three resources including a critical care paramedic were dispatched to the scene and the patient was transported to Edinburgh Royal Infirmary.”

A Diageo spokesperson said: “Unfortunately a subcontractor to our principal construction partner was involved in an incident on-site, becoming trapped when commissioning a low-level lift.

“Thankfully, due to quick actions of co-workers on site, the person was released quickly and given prompt first aid.

“The person concerned is currently in hospital with broken ribs and our thoughts are with him and his well-being.

“Our principal contractor and Diageo take the health and safety management of the site extremely seriously and all the necessary investigations are being carried out. We cannot comment further at this stage.”

The Johnnie Walker Experience is scheduled to officially open in the heart of the Capital’s West End on September 6.

The new facility will be housed on the site formerly held my Frasers department store.

Tickets for the new 71,500 sq ft city centre development, which takes visitors on a journey through the 200-year-old history behind the brand’s whisky, went on sale earlier this month.

The building will feature a rooftop bar with views of Edinburgh Castle.

A message from the Editor:

Thank you for reading this article. We're more reliant on your support than ever as the shift in consumer habits brought about by coronavirus impacts our advertisers.

If you haven't already, please consider supporting our trusted, fact-checked journalism by taking out a digital subscription.