Barra mourns
THE ISLAND of Barra was shocked this week by the deaths of two divers in an accident off Castlebay.
TWO men who died after a diving accident off the Isle of Barra on Saturday have been named as Iain Ruairidh Macdougall of Castlebay and Ryan McGuckin, who was from Falkirk but living in London.
The two shellfish divers, who were both 39 years old, were diving in waters near Castlebay where they got into difficulty. Police say they are not treating their deaths as suspicious, and all next of kin have been informed.
At 11.20am Stornoway Coastguard was contacted by a local ferry boat skipper who had noticed two divers go into the water and not resurface, leaving their small boat unmanned.
The RNLI Barra lifeboats were asked to search the area, along with the Coastguard rescue helicopter based in Stornoway and Barra Coastguard Rescue Team.
At around 1pm Barra lifeboat reported to the Coastguard that two casualties had been recovered from the water and taken to Barra hospital. Later Police Scotland announced that the two men had died in the incident.
Inspector Jane Nicolson said: ‘Our thoughts are with the families and friends of both Mr Macdougall and Mr McGuckin at this very difficult time, as well as with the tight-knit community on Barra which has been deeply affected by this tragedy.
‘I would once again like to take the opportunity to thank members of the public who assisted the emergency services on Saturday.
‘Our inquiries are continuing but there does not appear to be any suspicious circumstances. A report will be submitted to the procurator fiscal as is standard in these cases.’