Fears for loch man after boat capsizes

FEARS were growing last night for a man who failed to surface after the plunging into a loch when the boat he was fishing on capsized.

The man, who is in his mid-thirties, was among five men fishing on Loch Etive in Argyll who were thrown into the water when their boat overturned around 2.30pm yesterday afternoon.

Four of the party managed to surface and swim ashore, however the fifth could not be found. Coastguard and RAF rescue teams, including a helicopter from Lossiemouth, mounted a major search operation throughout the afternoon and evening, with the help of local boats, but had to call off the search at nightfall.

Another search is planned for 9am today. Temperatures in the area dropped after nightfall and the coastguard said the windspeed on the loch was around 35 knots.

Dave Eakin, watch officer at Clyde coastguard, said: "We were first called by Northern Police around 4.30pm but we believe the incident took place around 2.30pm.

"We conducted extensive searches with the assistance of the 137 Lossiemouth helicopter, mountain rescue and the help of local boats but had to call of the search by nightfall. We will continue the search from around 9pm on Sunday but unfortunately it is becoming increasingly unlikely that we might find this man alive."