A man found dead on a pavement near the north-east’s biggest hospital may have frozen to death.
His body is thought to have been found by an off-duty nurse who was on her way home from a shift at Aberdeen Royal Infirmary.
Police were called to the city’s busy Forresterhill Road after the grim find in the early hours of yesterday.
It is thought the man, who was in his 50s, may have taken ill and collapsed and then lain in the street for some time in plunging temperatures.
One resident said officers called to the scene had suggested he may have died from hypothermia.
Police said last night that the man was thought to have walked down Foresterhill Road from Anderson Drive.
It is believed he may have left Murdos Bar when it closed at midnight.
His body was found around 3am.
Traffic was diverted as police put a cordon in place at a block of flats between Oldcroft Place and Ashgrove Gardens North while forensic officers examined the scene.
Last night, a police spokeswoman said they did not believe the death “involved foul play” and appealed to witnesses who may have seen the man to get in touch.
Detective Inspector Lee Jardine said: “This death is being treated as unexplained and inquiries are ongoing to establish his last movements.
“From police inquiries, we understand that he may have walked from the Anderson Drive area to Foresterhill Road around 12.30am.”
The man was in his mid-50s, about 5ft 10in, of medium build and was wearing a dark hooded jacket, grey horizontal striped jumper, dark blue jeans and black leather shoes.
Last night, one shocked resident said she had spoken to a police officer who had indicated the man may have frozen to death.
Another resident, Linda Barkley, 64, of Forresterhill Road, said: “I never heard anything myself, but it is a very busy street, so you just end up tuning it out.
“I’ve been here 21 years and I’ve never heard of anything like it round here. It’s shocking.”
Shona Gibson, 51, who also lives on the street said: “I never saw a thing. You just don’t know what to think.”
Jan Napier, 79, of Ashgrove Road, only heard about the incident when it was announced that the road was closed.
She said: “I live by myself so it is really worrying.”
Meanwhile, a woman’s body was recovered from the River Don near the Bridge of Don around 8.25am yesterday.
Police said they were treating her death as “unexplained”, with a spokeswoman adding there appeared to be no suspicious circumstances.