Casualty airlifted to safety after falling at Bonnie Prince Charlie cave on Skye

A casualty was airlifted to safety after falling at a cave once used as a hiding place by Bonnie Prince Charlie.

Portree Lifeboat Stanley Watson Barker was launched on Wednesday afternoon at around 1.40pm after the coastguard requested assistance following an incident on the Trotternish coastline.

A casualty required medical assistance after falling at the remote cave north of Portree, once the hiding place of Bonnie Prince Charlie.

Once on the scene, RNLI crews helped to reach the casualty, who had fallen from a ledge above the shoreline.

Following an assessment, a coastguard helicopter attended from Inverness and airlifted the casualty to safety.

Stuart Nicolson, Coxswain at Portree RNLI, said: “This was a challenging shout for the volunteer crew, particularly as the casualty was located in quite a remote area of coastline, but the team worked well together alongside colleagues from the Scottish Ambulance Service and HM Coastguard, which helped to ensure the casualty was evacuated safely from the scene.

“We send our best wishes to the casualty and wish them a speedy recovery.”

It was the second shout in 48 hours for Portree RNLI, following a report of flares being spotted in the Loch Pooltiel and Dunvegan Head area of North Skye, shortly after midnight on Tuesday.

Following a search by crews, it was determined to be a false alarm of good intent.