A teenager has been airlifted to hospital with hypothermia after becoming trapped in a deep crevice for hours while crossing a river near Ben Nevis.
Footage published by the Coastguard service tonight shows the rescue mission which took place at about 5pm today.
A 16-year-old boy had been out with a walking group as part of the Duke of Edinburgh awards scheme when he became snagged in the water.
One of his friends had to walk for more than an hour to get signal on his mobile phone and call the emergency services.
The youngster was eventually plucked from the fast-flowing water by the Inverness Coastguard search and rescue helicopter.
A statement from the service, posted on its Facebook page, detailed the dramatic operation.
It says: “Police requested helicopter assistance after receiving reports from a Duke of Edinburgh walking group that a teenager needed urgent help.
“The teenager, who was one of a group of approximately 15, had attempted to cross a river but had become stuck whilst taking an alternative route.
“One of the group did an awesome job and walked for over an hour to get a signal on their mobile phone to call for help.
“The Inverness Coastguard helicopter was sent to the scene alongside the Lochaber Mountain Rescue Team.
“Once on scene it was quickly established that the Mountain Rescue Team were unable to reach him safely as he was trapped in a precarious position in a steep gully near a fast flowing waterfall.
“After some careful manoeuvring and several attempts on a 160ft winch line, paramedic winchman Scott Sharman was able to reach the young teenager and safely put the strops on him.”
Mr Sharman said: “He did well to hold on in difficult conditions for nearly two hours until we arrived.
“He seemed pretty relieved to be on dry ground when we got him out.”
The below video shows the paramedic being lowered from the copter towards the boy, before freeing him from his predicament.
The teenager was taken to Belford Hospital in Fort William with mild hypothermia but was otherwise uninjured.
