Rescuers battle fog to save cliff plunge teen

The 15-year-old boy was airlifted to Balfour Hospital in Kirkwall from the fog-shrouded cliff face in a "difficult and challenging" rescue coordinated by Shetland Coastguard and involving a Coastguard helicopter, a lifeboat and coastal rescue teams.

The teenager had been walking with members of his family on the cliffs at the Bay of Tongue in the north east of Hoy when he fell on Tuesday night. The emergency services were alerted by the boy's uncle and sister after he was found semi-conscious and with a leg injury at the foot of the cliffs.

Shetland Coastguard immediately alerted the Hoy and Stromness Coastguard rescue teams and Stromness lifeboat was launched to go to the aid of the injured teenager. The local Coastguard helicopter was also scrambled.

Martin Sykes, the duty watch manager at Shetland Coastguard, said visibility in the area was very poor because of thick fog.

He added: "This was a difficult and challenging rescue. The Stromness team were flown to the approximate location by helicopter and we were able to ask the lad's uncle by mobile phone to wave a lamp in the fog to try and attract attention both from the seaward side and the lifeboat, and from the air by helicopter.

"Using his mobile phone he was able to describe the sound of the helicopter as being louder or softer, as the group was unsure of their own exact position. The teams put on the ground locally also used whistles and the first informant was able to describe how close and in what position he could hear the sound, to try and help the Coastguards locate him."

Mr Sykes said: "The lifeboat crew also set off a flare in an effort to identify how close they were to the group of three and to provide and additional point of light by which the uncle could get a bearing.

"Fortunately using a mix of all of these methods, the group of three was located and the boy was immediately airlifted to hospital at Kirkwall."