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Forestry worker hit by fallen tree airlifted to hospital

The injured forestry worker arrives at Raigmore Hospital
The injured forestry worker arrives at Raigmore Hospital

A forestry worker was airlifted to hospital yesterday after being hit by a falling tree while working above one of the north’s busiest roads.

The man – understood to be in his 20s – was taken to Raigmore in Inverness with what was believed to be a serious neck injury after the incident next to the A82.

He had been working as a contractor for Forestry Commission Scotland on a steep slope beside the main route between Inverness and Fort William.

No information about his condition was available last night but he was conscious and breathing at the scene and his injuries are not thought to be life threatening.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) confirmed it was aware of the incident and was investigating.

The work above Loch Lochy is part of a long-running project by Forest Enterprise Scotland, the operations arm of Forestry Commission Scotland, to improve safety along the A82 by harvesting trees.

No activity could be seen at the site yesterday afternoon, just hours after the injured man was airlifted away.

A spokesman for Forest Enterprise Scotland spokesman: “There has been an accident on the site of the steep harvesting work on the slopes of the A82 at Loch Lochy.

“It appears that a contractor working on the site has been injured and has had to be taken by air ambulance to hospital for assessment.

“Forest Enterprise Scotland takes the health and safety of all its staff and contractors working on the national forest estate very seriously.

“Our health and safety team is on site and will be working with the harvesting contractors to ensure that any lessons can be learned.

“At this stage we do not know the extent of the injuries but we wish him a speedy recovery.”

The accident was reported to the emergency services around 9.10am.

Police closed the A82 between Laggan and Letterfinlay for nearly two hours to create a safe landing area for the air ambulance.

A spokeswoman for the fire service said that a crew from Fort Augustus and a heavy rescue unit from Inverness had been sent to the scene but were stood down without being needed.

A spokeswoman said: “We were called to a report of a man being hit by a tree but we were not required at the scene.”