A teenage boy was dramatically airlifted in a “serious condition” after being injured near an historic Highland castle.
Emergency services descended on Sinclair Castle near Wick yesterday at around 5pm after reports that a 14-year-old had got himself into difficulties and was trapped by an incoming tide.
In a major response, coastguard teams from Wick, Aberdeen, Duncansby, Scrabster and Melvich along with the Coastguard Rescue Helicopter from Shetland were summoned to the scene along with police and the ambulance service.
Following a major operation, the boy was subsequently airlifted from the gully where he had been trapped and taken to Aberdeen Royal Infirmary.
It is understood that the boy might have been a French national.
A statement released by the coastguard last night read: “HM Coastguard is coordinating a rescue operation of a 14-year-old stuck in a gully at Sinclair Castle near Wick.
“HM Coastguard was contacted at 5pm this evening about a 14-year-old male in difficulty and trapped in an inaccessible location with an incoming tide.
“Rescue units on scene include the the Wick RNLI all-weather lifeboat and Coastguard rescue teams from Wick, Aberdeen, Duncansby, Scrabster and Melvich along with the Coastguard Rescue Helicopter from Shetland and Police Scotland and Scottish Ambulance service.”
It later transpired that the boy had been rescued and was being taken to hospital with his injuries, following the co-ordinated response to the emergency.
A Police Scotland spokesman said the youngster had been evacuated by air ambulance.
He said: “We were called to reports that a 14-year-old boy was injured near Sinclair Castle. The boy was airlifted by helimed at about 7.13pm.
“His injuries are not life threatening but serious.
“The full circumstances of the incident are now being investigated.”
The clifftop Sinclair Castle was built between 1476 and 1496 and is considered one of the original ancestral homes of Clan Sinclair.