A woman has died after falling into a river near Loch Ness.
The 42-year-old fell into the River Moriston, near Invermoriston, with the alarm being raised shortly before 1.30pm.
It is understood she had been with a dog and slipped, with one local suggesting she may have fallen trying to help her dog.
She fell from as much as 30ft, downstream from the Invermoriston Falls.
She was winched by the Coastguard Rescue Helicopter and airlifted to Raigmore Hospital.
A nearby resident said: “I don’t know who it was but I heard it was that a woman had fallen after trying to rescue her dog. I believe the dog is fine.”
Several police officers remained at the scene until around 3.30pm as investigations into the incident continued.
The woodland path remained open to tourists as a band of yellow tape was erected at the top of the steep drop.
A rescue effort was launched involving fire and ambulance crews, the coastguard and Loch Ness lifeboat.
The coastguard helicopter was deployed alongside ground crews from Cromarty, Inverness and Fort William.
The fire service sent two water rescue teams from Inverness and Elgin, two appliances from Fort Augustus and one from Drumnadrochit.
A fire service spokesman said: “The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service was called at 1.30pm on Thursday, May 3 to assist our emergency service partners.
“Operations control mobilised two fires engines and specialist water units to the River Moriston, near Fort Augustus, where firefighters assisted their emergency service colleagues.”
One appliance from the Scottish Ambulance Service was also dispatched.
The Loch Ness RNLI was called out shortly after the Fire and Ambulance services, launching at 1.54pm amid fears that the woman would be swept downstream.
An RNLI station spokeswoman said: “The coastguard tasked the lifeboat with going to the mouth of the River Moriston and to stay at that point and to keep watch there.
“By the time the lifeboat arrived at that point the coastguard had already airlifted the woman,” she added.
The police revealed that the woman had died after being airlifted from the scene to Raigmore Hospital in Inverness at around 2.30pm.
