A man died in a kayaking incident on a Highland loch.
The accident happened shortly before 5pm on Monday, when two men were lifted out of Loch Lochy on the Caledonian Canal.
One of them, a 28-year-old, was pronounced dead at the scene.
The incident happened near to the popular Laggan Locks marina, cafe and camping area at the north end of loch as it enters into the Caledonian Canal.
The busy A82 Fort William to Inverness road runs alongside the freshwater loch.
A bystander raised the alarm after seeing the two men in difficulty in the water.
Police, the Fort William Coastguard team, the Coastguard helicopter, the Stornoway Coastguard response team, and the Ambulance Service were all in attendance at the scene.
Weather conditions were described as “challenging” with heavy rain and a mist over the water.
A police spokesman said: “HM Coastguard attended and the man was recovered from the water by a local boat. Sadly, the man was pronounced dead at the scene.
“A second man was also recovered from the water and was taken to the Belford Hospital in Fort William. He has since been discharged.
“There are no suspicious circumstances and a report will be submitted to the Procurator Fiscal in due course.”
Campers on the lochside on Monday evening described said they were “devastated” by the afternoon’s events.
One man, who had come up the loch from Neptune’s staircase in Fort William, said: “The conditions on the loch were challenging on Monday, to say the least. It was raining heavily, and visibility was poor.
“We got to Laggan in the early afternoon and all of a sudden there were police, ambulance and then a Coastguard helicopter helping people who were in difficulty in the loch.
“There were lots of people at the marina and on the lochside at the time.
“I think the emergency teams did think about landing the top of the loch, but because it was so busy they seemed to change their mind and the helicopter went south again.”
Sarah Gorman, an eyewitness at the scene, said: “There was a lot of activity. The coastguard helicopter was here, there was an ambulance and police.
“It was busy around the area with other people who were boating and kayaking.
“The weather conditions weren’t good. It had been raining really heavily all day.”
