HM Coastguard

 HM Coastguard's specialist rope rescue teams were called in just before 9am on Friday (21 August) to help the Scottish Ambulance and the Fire and Rescue service at a remote location in Scotland where a man had fallen around 30ft down a steep, difficult-to-access gorge and onto the riverbed below. Coastguard Rescue Teams with specialist expertise in rope rescues were sent from Burghead, Inverness and Nairn, together with a Senior Coastal Operations Officer to the scene on the river Findhorn. And they played an important role in a challenging multi-agency rescue. One of the Coastguard Rescue helicopters from Inverness was also dispatched with a winchman paramedic on board and emergency services partners from Scottish Ambulance and Scottish Fire and Rescue were at the scene.   Until the early afternoon, the teams worked closely together in the difficult circumstances and isolated location to find the safest and most efficient means of getting the man to safety.  The added p...

The HM Coastguard search and rescue helicopter from Stornoway winched all of the eight-person crew to safety from a cargo vessel which had ran aground in adverse weather conditions in the early hours of Monday (23rd March). Despite strong winds and complete darkness, the helicopter was able to successfully evacuate all on-board. Portree RNLI lifeboat were also involved in the rescue. The vessel, which made contact with the Coastguard and reported taking on water, now remains on hard ground at Sgeir Graidach rock in the Minch in north-west Scotland - and is being monitored by the Maritime & Coastguard Agency's Emergency Towing Vessel, Ievoli Black. Watch the video of the helicopter airlifting one crew member from the vessel below: