Wij luisteren altijd op ons radiootje naar BBC Scotland nieuwsberichten en ieder jaar gebeurd er wel iets akeligs omdat mensen toch niet voorzichtig genoeg zijn, dit jaar was het deze ellende.Safety warning as girl, 8, dies in fall at Highland gorge AN EIGHT year old girl has died after falling down a gorge at a popular Highland beauty spot yesterday.
The girl is believed to have been accompanied by her parents when she fell from a narrow path beside the Glen Nevis gorge in Lochaber which runs to the 300 ft high Steall Waterfall.
She is the third child to have died in accidents at gorges and waterfalls across Scotland this year, and last night safety experts warned many of the counties rural scenic spots are not suitable for children and urged adults to be "sensible" and not take youngsters into dangerous terrain.
There were a number of walkers in the area at the time of yesterday's accident and Lochaber Mountain Rescue team was called to the scene of yesterday's accident in Glen Nevis just after 6pm.
An RAF helicopter from Lossiemouth was scrambled to the spot and picked up three members of the girl's family and a member of Lochaber Mountain Rescue team before flying them back to Fort William police station.
The helicopter then returned to pick up the girl and took her to hospital in Fort William, but it has not been confirmed whether she was still alive when emergency crews reached her.
An RAF spokesman said: "It's profoundly sad that this happened. We scrambled our helicopter and did all we could, but not every search and rescue has a happy ending and this one was profoundly tragic."
The death is the latest in a series of accidents at gorges and waterfalls in Scotland this year which have claimed the lives of children.
In July, a 15-year-old girl on an outdoor adventure trip fell to her death at the Grey Mare's Tail waterfall in Galloway Forest Park near Newton Stewart.
And in May, a ten-year-old girl was swept to her death at a beauty spot on Royal Deeside while her photograph was being taken.
Roger Vincent, a spokesman for The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) said last night that the recent spate of deaths should warn parents from taking children across dangerous terrain to visit beauty spots.
He said: "If people plan to visit a spot near water or a drop they need to be aware of the terrain and stay away from dangerous spots if there is a young child in the group, particularly during bad weather.
If people are near water or a drop, they need to be aware of where they are going and that people are capable of coping with that particular terrain, whoever is in charge of children, do need to know lay of land."
He said many areas were simply not suitable for children.
"It is impossible to put a railing along the top of every mountain path. It would ruin the whole idea of what people go to countryside for, so people need to take responsibility for their actions. We want people to enjoy the countryside, but they have to do that sensibly."
Web links
Mountain Rescue Committee of Scotlandhttp://www.mrc-scotland.org.uk/ Mountaineering Council of Scotlandhttp://www.mountaineering-scotland.org.uk/ Scottish Avalanche Information Servicehttp://www.sais.gov.uk Scottish Climbing Archivehttp://www.scotclimb.org.uk/index.php The Angry Corrie - hillwalking fanzinehttp://bubl.ac.uk/org/tacit/tac/
