Woman and children airlifted to safety in rowing boat rescue

The group got into difficulty on Loch Garry in the Highlands on Saturday morning.

Woman and children airlifted to safety in rowing boat rescue iStock

A woman and four children have been airlifted to safety after their rowing boat started taking on water in a loch.

The group called 999 when they got into difficulty on Loch Garry in the Highlands at around 11.15am on Saturday, the coastguard said.

They managed to reach land in their boat but came ashore in an inaccessible area and were trapped there.

The coastguard helicopter from Inverness winched them aboard and flew them to safety.

Fort William coastguard rescue team, police, the fire service and ambulance service were also called out to the incident.

A coastguard spokesman said: “The boat was a rowing boat which started taking on a bit of water so they tried to get to the other side, and got ashore but ended up getting stuck.

“They got ashore in an area inaccessible by road.”

The woman and children, aged between five and 14, were staying in holiday accommodation nearby.

They were checked over by ambulance crew and all found to be well after their ordeal on the loch, which is near Invergarry.

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