Fire crews and coastguard personnel worked together in a training drill. Picture: MCA.
Emergency services held a major exercise in Moray at the weekend to train for a testing water rescue.
Coastguard teams from Burghead, Buckie and Portsoy worked with fire crews from Fochabers and Elgin to test their response to the simulated incident on the River Spey.
The training drill involved personnel being called to reports of a kayaker in distress on the water, about a mile south of Fochabers.
Teams were tasked with working together to locate the man before transferring them across the river, which is the fastest flowing in Scotland, using a system of rafts and ropes.
Some personnel had to take to the water in the training exercise. Picture: MCA.
The operation also involved some participants taking to the water.
A second search was then undertaken to locate the kayaker’s partner before they too were recovered by coastguard personnel and fire crews.
The training drill brought several emergency units to the Fochabers area on Saturday, with local ghillies also looking on as observers.
A coastguard spokesman said: “These exercising opportunities are vital for each organisation to ensure we work together at the incidents we attend.
“It allows us to meet personnel and become familiar with each other’s procedures and equipment.”
