An Orkney man has been airlifted to hospital after falling nearly 30ft at a popular climbing site.
The 52-year-old was taken to Balfour Hospital in Kirkwall with a suspected broken jaw yesterday afternoon.
His fall sparked a major rescue operation involving two coastguard teams and Kirkwall lifeboat.
The alarm was raised after the climber was reported in difficulty just after 1.30pm on Sunday afternoon.
He had been climbing the popular Rose Ness, near Holm on the south coast of Mainland.
The man has not been named by the authorities.
He is a member of Orkney Climbing Club but members of the club were unable to comment on his condition yesterday evening.
One club member said Rose Ness is a “popular climb”.
He added: “It’s a little single sea crag with many fairly easy routes for climbers.”
Two coastguard teams – from Kirkwall and St Margaret’s Hope – attended, while a lifeboat team from Kirkwall also headed to the scene of the incident.
The man was given first aid by both coastguard and lifeboat teams at the scene, but a decision was made to call for the air ambulance from Sumburgh on Shetland to move the injured man to hospital.
A spokesman for Kirkwall lifeboat said: “The gentleman was a 52-year-old local climber and he was involved with Orkney Climbing Club.
“We believe he has suffered a broken jaw and we arrived he had also lost a bit of blood.
“We have since been told that he is going to be alright by the hospital.
“It’s unclear what has happened to cause his accident.”
A Shetland coastguard spokesman added: “We became involved because he had landed on rocks quite close to the water.
“He was given first aid at the scene but it was clear that he was badly enough injured that he would need to be taken to hospital for treatment.”