A driver who survived a 50ft fall in his car, in the middle of the night on a rural Highland road, was taken to hospital this morning with only minor injuries.
The man, who has not been named by police, was driving near to Applecross at 4am in the early hours of Sunday morning when he went off the road in “foggy conditions” landing down a steep hillside.
Police, the Fire Service, Coastguard, ambulances and the air ambulance were all called to the scene between the villages of Applecross and Shieldaig in Wester Ross.
A spokeswoman for Coastguard called the man “very, very lucky” due to the sheer height the car fell down the ravine.
She continued: “Our teams were called to the accident due to the position it was in.”
A Police spokesman said: “We were called to an incident near to Applecross at 4am on Saturday morning. ”
It is understood the road is the Bealach na Ba, the A896.
“No one was seriously injured, however a vehicle had fallen 50ft down a cliffside. The conditions in the area at the time were described as foggy.
“One male, the only occupant of the car, was taken to Raigmore Hospital – suffering from only minor injuries – but due to his location a helicopter was used to transport him.
“Due to the inaccessible place the car stopped, the vehicle remains in place, but the road reopened at 7.10am this morning.”
A spokesman for Scottish Fire and Rescue Service said: “We were called to a road traffic crash by the Ambulance Service at 4.09am.
“We tasked appliances from Lochcarron, Torridon and Broadford to the scene.
“We arrived on scene at 5am.
“During the operation we used a safety line, safe working at height procedures and we also used a general purpose line to aid the Police, and passenger.
“We left the scene at 7.10am.”
