TRIBUTES have been paid to the first person killed in the Legionnaires' disease outbreak as dozens of other families face an anxious wait over the health of their loved ones.
Labourer Robert "Bertie" Air, 56, a father-of-two, died on Tuesday, 24 hours after being admitted to hospital in Edinburgh.
As the number of cases reached 61 yesterday, his partner Rena said: "I don't want to remember him. I just want him back."
Mr Air, of Seafield, Edinburgh, became unwell over the weekend and was sent home from work on a building site in the Gorgie area of the capital.
His workplace was just yards from the North British Distillery, which is one of six industrial sites being tested for the Legionella bacteria.
It has now emerged two of Mr Air's colleagues have sought medical advice after feeling unwell and have been prescribed antibiotics as a precautionary measure, although it has not been confirmed if they are suffering from the infection.
Bill Pollock, personnel manager at his employers J Smart and Co, said he had been with them since last August and was well liked.
In a statement, the firm added: "Robert Air was a good and conscientious employee. He will be missed. Our thoughts are with his family at this time."
The victim's brother, Ronald, earlier spoke of his shock at his brother's sudden death. He had seen Robert on the Monday when he was feeling unwell.
Ronald Air said: "We're all really shocked. Can't believe it. He was my buddy as well as my brother. He said to me 'I'm not feeling well Ronnie'. I told him to get the doctor. I said 'I'll come round and see you', but I never got the chance."
Mr Air is also survived by his two children, Kelly Ann, 29, and Robert, 35.
Among the other victims, taxi driver Ronnie Fraser is still in hospital after being struck down with the illness last week.
Mr Fraser, 50, reportedly developed a bad cough on Friday after feeling unwell for a couple of days, and a GP was called to his house in Gorgie on Saturday.
The original diagnosis of a viral infection changed on Sunday when a second doctor was called.
His wife, Elayne, 47, said: "He said 'You're going in because you need to get an X-ray done', and he said there was an infection in the lungs."
Meanwhile, a bedside vigil last night continued for John McLaren, a 63-year-old retired naval officer in intensive care.
Mr McLaren is thought to be one of the first people in Edinburgh to have caught the disease and has been in an induced coma for over a week.
The grandfather-of-five was rushed to Edinburgh Royal infirmary last Wednesday after complaining of severe chest pains and difficulty breathing, with his family describing him as being in a delirious state.
Mr McLaren lives alone in the Stenhouse area of Edinburgh and has two children, Leanne, 38, and Steven, 39, with his ex-wife Anne Henretti, 61.
Ms Henretti said he had been in the hospital bed next to Mr Air. She added: "The whole family are crushed and Leanne and Steven have been with him in intensive care every day. It's terrifying because the man that died was in the bed next to John."
Ms Henretti said her ex-husband spent his days visiting his daughter and her children who live in Gorgie, a "stone's throw" from the distillery.
Chartered surveyor Rick Gibb, 54, who lives in the Gorgie area of the city, also remains seriously unwell in hospital.
North British Distillery said it was one of a number of businesses being inspected but had no further comment. Results of bacteria tests are due over the weekend.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article