Rescuer crawled through muddy loch to get to hillwalkers
Glencoe Mountain Rescue Team
Richard Webb/Geograph- A group of hillwalkers had to be rescued from near a Highland reservoir after one of them injured a leg
- To save time, a Glencoe Mountain Rescue Team volunteer crawled and swam the loch to reach two of the group
- Usually the rescue team would used a boat, but the reservoir was too shallow
- The injured walker was found and flown to hospital
A rescuer crawled, waded and swam through the mud and water of a reservoir during an operation to rescue three hillwalkers.
The walkers had got into difficulty near Blackwater Reservoir above Kinlochleven in the west Highlands after one of the group injured a leg.
The weekend's overnight rescue effort was hampered by low cloud and uncertainty over the exact location of the walkers.
A member of Glencoe Mountain Rescue Team, who lives near the reservoir, spotted lights on the opposite side of the loch.
Usually the team would have used its inflatable boat to cross the reservoir, but the water was found to be too shallow.
To avoid a long walk around the loch to the other side, a team member trained and equipped for a water rescue crossed the reservoir.
He was met by two of the walkers, who had been trying to find a phone signal.
A break in the weather allowed Inverness Coastguard helicopter to join the rescue effort.
It picked up the two walkers and Glencoe MRT's volunteer before joining a successful search for the injured walker, who was flown to hospital for treatment.