Woman rescued after horror cemetery cliff fall

A woman has been rushed to hospital after falling off a cliff at a cemetery on the Isle of Lewis.

The alarm was raised shortly after 3am on Tuesday, February 16, following reports of a person in the water near Bragar Cemetery.

Coastguard rescue crews raced to the scene and discovered a 28-year-old woman suffering from hypothermia.

Rescuers were called to the scene at Bragar Cemetery in the early hours of Tuesday morning (HM Coastguard)

A specialist rope rescue system was quickly put in place and used to winch the woman back up to safety.

The woman was handed into the care of waiting paramedics and taken to Western Isles Hospital for treatment.

Her condition is not currently known.

A statement from HM Coastguard Western Isles, Skye and Lochaber said: “Ness, Breasclete, Bragar, Miavaig, Stornoway Coastguard Rescue Teams and duty area officer S18D were tasked to report of a 28-year-old hypothermic female who had fallen down a cliff at Bragar Cemetery, Isle of Lewis.

“Derek and Kayleigh Smith, father and daughter team from the Ness Coastguards reached the casualty and assisted her from the water and continued to assess her condition.

The 28-year-old woman was taken to the Western Isles Hospital for treatment (HM Coastguard)

“While they and other members of the team continued to monitor her condition, a rope rescue system was set up on the cliff above in order to extricate the casualty from the base of the cliff.

“Once secured in the stretcher and recovered to the top of the cliff, the casualty was handed over to the care of Scottish Ambulance Service for onward care at Western Isles Hospital.

“We wish her a speedy recovery and want to remind everyone to take extra care at cliff edges in wet and slippery conditions.”