Search for woman as man dies in sea

12 April 2012

A 26-year-old man has died after he was swept out to sea off the north-west coast of Scotland, the coastguard said.

A search is under way for his companion, an 18-year-old woman, who was also washed out to sea.

The Polish pair were standing on rocks near the Point of Stoer lighthouse in Caithness when they were swept into the sea.

The dead man's wife, who is the sister of the missing teenager, raised the alarm.

Stornoway Coastguard scrambled a helicopter and a lifeboat to search for the missing pair.

The man was found and was winched into the helicopter, where he was pronounced dead.

The helicopter was refuelling in Stornoway before heading back out to the scene to search for the woman using infra-red equipment.

The lifeboat is still searching, though conditions are quite bad with gale force eight winds.

Northern Constabulary said that it has officers at the scene.

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