Breaking news.
A man’s body has been pulled from a river in Sutherland following a large emergency response to an incident in the early hours of this morning.
A multi-agency emergency response was triggered shortly after midnight after reports of a person in the water in the River Naver.
A search-and-rescue helicopter, several Coastguard rescue teams, the RNLI’s Thurso lifeboat, two appliances and a water rescue unit from the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS), and the Scottish Ambulance Service were among the units deployed after the alarm was raised at around 12.22am.
Earlier today, the RNLI confirmed that a “casualty had been recovered” from the water, but did not reveal their condition.
But in a new update, Police Scotland has now confirmed that a man has died.
In a statement issued shortly after 2.30pm, a Police Scotland spokesperson said: “Around 12.25am on Wednesday, officers received a report of a body found at River Naver, Bettyhill, Thurso.
“Emergency services attended and the body of a man was recovered.
“The death is being treated as unexplained, however there are not believed to be any suspicious circumstances. A report will be submitted to the Procurator Fiscal.”
The man has not yet been named.
Speaking earlier today, the RNLI’s Thurso crew confirmed that they had been called to a “time critical” incident at the River Naver and that Coastguard rescue teams had subsequently “recovered a casualty”.
A spokesperson for the RNLI said: “Thurso RNLI lifeboat volunteer crew’s pagers were activated at 12.33am today and The Taylors [lifeboat] was launched at 12.42am on a time critical shout in response to a report that a person was in the water in the River Naver.
“Coxswain Gordon Munro took the lifeboat at full speed to the area. The Taylors was stood down by HM Coastguard at 1.03am when the crew were told that the casualty had been recovered from the water by Coastguard rescue teams and Scottish Ambulance Service personnel were on scene.
“The lifeboat returned to Scrabster where it was refuelled and made ready for service at 1.50am.”
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