Man Rescued from Rural Perthshire River
Scottish Fire and Rescue Service last night led an operation to rescue a man who had fallen 50 feet from a cliff into the water at Old Bridge of Tilt Road, Blair Atholl.
Scottish Fire and Rescue Service led an operation to rescue a man who had fallen 50 feet from a cliff into the water at Old Bridge of Tilt Road, Blair Atholl in the early hours of this morning.
The man had been walking in the area at around 2.58am when he fell from the cliff edge into the water below. Fortunately he was able to dial 999 and call for help.
Two appliances from Perth, swift water rescue teams from Perth and Dundee’s Kingsway, one appliance from Pitlochry, one from Dunkeld and the Incident Support Unit from Blackness Road were all sent to the scene.
The Scottish Ambulance Service, Police Scotland, Royal Navy Search and Rescue helicopter from Prestwick and NHS Tayside’s trauma team were also involved.
SFRS Incident Commander, Station Manager Bob Rearie, said: “The man had been walking in the area and had fallen down a sharp drop 50 feet into the water.
“It was an extremely inaccessible area so we decided to split our resources, sending half the team in from the Blair Castle side and the other from the Old Tilt side.
“One of our water rescue teams worked on the Old Tilt side of the water and using their line rescue skills and equipment took Scottish Ambulance Service Paramedics down. Once they had reached the casualty he was assessed and placed on our rescue sled across the water to meet with our second water rescue team on the opposite side.
“The Royal Navy helicopter was also there to meet the casualty and he was airlifted to hospital for treatment to his injuries, which are, thankfully, not believed to be life threatening.”
Bob added: “This incident highlights the importance of close partnership working and was an excellent example of all emergency services working together to achieve a positive outcome.”