Two killed as car leaves road and plummets 100ft into loch
TWO people were feared dead last night after a car plunged 100ft down a hillside and into a remote Highland loch.
The car left the A832 in the Ardessie area of Wester Ross before crashing into Little Loch Broom.
It is thought the passengers were a local man and a woman on their way to visit relatives in Ullapool.
Reports suggest the red Honda Civic left the road, which is part of the North Coast 500 tourist route, at a point where there is a steep bank and a 100ft drop to the sea loch.
The vehicle is thought to have hit the rocks before being submerged. The road was closed while searches were carried out.
The car, which landed on its roof, was pulled from the water shortly after 8pm last night.
Local Conservative councillor Derek MacLeod, who represents Wester Ross, Strathpeffer and Lochalsh on Highland Council, said: ‘There have been two fatalities and I am surprised that their vehicle has left the road where it has.
‘I know that road very well and travel along it regularly. It is one of the best bits of road along that stretch, with good visibility. There is quite a distance to the sea from the road there. It is quite a drop.
‘It is not clear yet whether this involves local people or visitors. But exactly how the vehicle ended up going off the road is puzzling.’
A spokesman for Police Scotland said it was believed no other vehicle was involved in the incident, which was still ongoing as he spoke.
Loch Ewe, Ullapool and Gairloch Coastguard rescue teams were sent to the scene, along with Lochinver Lifeboat and six appliances from the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service.
The accident is believed to have happened between Ardessie and Badcaul. It was reported at 3.45pm. Lochinver Lifeboat was still at the scene four hours later.
Police Scotland’s Highlands and Islands division issued a statement saying: ‘Officers are in attendance at the A832 near Ardessie following a report at 3.45pm that a vehicle had left the road at Little Loch Broom.
‘A multi-agency response is ongoing involving police, the Maritime and Coastguard Agency, Scottish Fire and Rescue Service and lifeboat teams.
‘A section of the A832 is currently closed and we would advise motorists to avoid the area meantime – thank you in advance for your patience.’
A spokesman for the Maritime and Coastguard Agency said: ‘Police Scotland and the Scottish Ambulance Service requested HM Coastguard assistance after receiving reports of a car entering the water at Little Loch Broom, near Ardessie.’
The remote stretch of road is part of the North Coast 500 route, a touring route popular with visitors to Scotland’s northern coastlines.
The route starts in Inverness and heads west to Applecross and then northwards, passing through Caithness and Sutherland before heading back to Inverness.
Last September, an 85-year-old man died following a car accident on the same stretch of the A832 near Little Loch Broom.
Roderick Sutherland, from Tain, in Easter Ross, was a passenger in a silver Mazda that crashed near Dundonnell. He died in hospital five days later.
The other occupants of the Mazda and those travelling in a white Fiat 500 were treated for minor injuries at Raigmore Hospital in Inverness.
‘How it happened is puzzling’