Three men tried to rescue a pilot after his helicopter crashed in a loch in North Uist.
The chartered aircraft ditched in Loch Scadavay, south of Lochmaddy, while on operations on Wednesday morning.
Three men were on site as part of the shoreside operation of moving rowing boats.
They saw the crash and raised the alarm. They rowed out to the sinking aircraft and
took the 59-
Sadly, he was pronounced dead at the scene.
An ambulance took him to the Uist and Barra hospital in Balivanich on neighbouring Benbecula.
He is believed to have been the only person onboard.
Police are guarding the scene.
The PDG-
It was chartered to the Scottish Salmon Company which has a base at the site.
The aircraft was lifting a load when it ditched into the loch -
Its yellow coloured life raft inflated automatically when helicopter hit the water.
Sergeant Steven Rae of Benbecula Police said the helicopter was transferring a boat when the accident occurred.
Sgt Rae said: “The initial call come in at 10.15am and the emergency services were on the scene 15 minutes later.”
“Three members of the public assisted in the recovery of the pilot. I would like to thank them for their help.”
He explained the trio were already at the loch as part of the operation involving the aircraft and they alerted the emergency services.
The helicopter’s liferaft inflated upon impact he added.
Police, the fire service, ambulance and local coastguard teams rushed to the scene.
Stornoway coastguard rescue helicopter was also summoned but was later stood down.
It was assigned priority at the nearby Benbecula airport in case it needed to land to refuel.
Passengers travelling with airline Loganair were told their flights may be disrupted as a result.
The Clachan road -
The man's next of kin have been informed.
No other people are believed to have been onboard the helicopter at the time.
PDG Aviation Services said the aircraft was chartered by a salmon farm firm but was not ferrying fish at the time.
Western Isles chief inspector Ian Graham said: "Firstly, our thoughts are with the
man's family and the local community at this difficult time.
"Our enquiries into
this are ongoing and we are liaising with other agencies, including the Air Accidents
Investigation Bureau, in order to establish the full circumstances.”
Three men went to aid pilot in crashed helicopter
13 June 2018
Police officers are guarding the scene
The helicopter came down in the roadside loch