Man feared dead after island fall

AN EXPERIENCED climber and mountain-rescue team member is feared drowned after being swept over a waterfall and out to sea while walking on the island of Rum.

An air and sea search for Thomas MacAuley, 60, was called off yesterday as worsening weather conditions hampered the operation.

Mr MacAuley, who lived in Arrochar, Argyll, where he was a member of the local rescue team, was walking on Wednesday on a coastal path with a friend and fellow mountain-rescue team member.

The pair were crossing a stream which was in spate on a route between Dibidil and Welshman's Rock on the south-east corner of the island. Mr MacAuley lost his footing and was washed over a waterfall and into the sea. The burn, which is at a height of about 300ft, flows through a succession of waterfalls before it reaches the sea.

The alarm was raised shortly after 5pm when the other man contacted staff from Scottish Natural Heritage, which owns Rum, at Kinloch, the island's main settlement.

A coastguard helicopter from Stornoway was scrambled and searched the east coast of the island, while coastguards in Rum and Mallaig joined the hunt.

The operation resumed yesterday morning but was called off at midday in weather conditions described by rescuers as "horrendous".