Banff man dies after car plunges into river
It happened near Portsoy on Wednesday afternoon
Last updated 14th Sep 2017
A young Banff man has died after his car became submerged in a river in Aberdeenshire. 23-year-old Michael Atkinson was in his 4x4 when it went into the Burn of Boyne, just off the A98 at Tillynaught, Portsoy, on Wednesday afternoon.
Emergency services launched a major search and rescue operation after being alerted to the incident, and found the car completely underwater.
The man was pulled from the vehicle and was pronounced dead after being airlifted to Aberdeen Royal Infirmary.
His next of kin have been told.
The major search - involving police, fire, ambulance and coastguard crews - was sparked when the emergency services received a call alerting them to the incident shortly after 4pm.
A helicopter and the Macduff lifeboat were also involved in the operation.
The 4x4 was found underwater at around 5.30pm.
It followed heavy rain in the area, and surface water on many routes in the area, including the A98.
Inspector George Cordiner said: We can sadly confirm that a man has died after his vehicle went into water in Tillynaught near Portsoy this afternoon.
A significant search and rescue operation was launched in order to trace the man and I would like to thank members of the local community who assisted us and the emergency service personnel who attended.
Our thoughts at this difficult time are with the family of the man who has died.
There does not appear to be any suspicious circumstances and a report will be submitted to the Procurator Fiscal in due course.''