A search for two men on an inflatable dinghy on Loch Ness was carried out by RNLI crews from Kessock and Loch Ness in the early hours of Saturday after a relative alerted the emergency services .
The men had last been seen leaving Dores beach around 7pm on Friday but with little information of their whereabouts except they were in “fast flowing water”, RNLI Kessock’s volunteer flood rescue team was called in just before midnight.
The specially-trained volunteer crew made their way towards the weir just down stream from Dochgarroch in their vehicle. Although the team is trained to respond overall to flooding emergencies, one aspect is to work effectively in very fast flowing water such as rivers, burns or tidal streams.
While the Loch Ness RNLI Lifeboat started a search of Loch Dochfour, the Kessock volunteers made preparations to start a search of the water at the weir and make their way down stream to Inverness.
But at about 1.20 am, the Kessock volunteers were stood down just as they started searching as after confirmation came through that the men had been found safe at the Ness Islands.
It was the third time in three days the Kessock volunteers were called to an emergency but stood down just as they were about to start a rescue operation.
Gary Friedman, lifeboat operations manager at Kessock, acknowledged there would always be some inconvenience caused either at home or at work for the volunteer crew. “But as volunteers the men and women are trained to respond to any situation and we would much rather be called to help and be stood down again like in these past three days than not be called upon at all and hear later on of the potential consequences,” he said. “Thankfully, on this occasion everybody was found safely.”
