A climber has been airlifted to hospital following a dramatic five-and-a-half hour rescue on Skye.
The man, in his 60s, fell about 20ft while abseiling down Coire A’ Ghreadaidh in the Cuillins.
He had been with a fellow climber from the south of Scotland when he fell from 1,640ft up.
He suffered lower back, pelvic area and leg injuries.
The alarm was raised around 10pm on Wednesday when Skye Mountain Rescue Team were coming to the end of a training session.
They sent 17 team members – with one remaining at base – but problems over pinpointing the injured climber hampered the search.
A coastguard search and rescue helicopter from Stornoway was also unable to uplift some members of the MRT because of the visibility.
Injured climber airlifted
Neil Urquhart, leader of Skye MRT, said: “The chap had fallen about 20ft while abseiling down.
“There were problems with the other climber’s phone and we only located the injured man just after 1am. We gave him medical aid and then the helicopter’s winch paramedic managed to get down and brought a stretcher.
“The injured climber, who had injuries to his lower back, pelvic area and legs, was taken off at 3.30am.
“We finished at 4.40am and so it was a long night with team members having to be back at work a few hours later. One is a teacher so he had little rest before being back in the classroom.”
The casualty was taken to Raigmore Hospital in Inverness. His condition is unknown.
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