"I thought I was going to die" - Injured man crawls along loch to save his life

Professor Ben Wilson had cycled four miles north of Bonawe Quarry, on the western shoreline of Loch Etive, on January 5 and was exploring the shore on foot when he slipped on ice and broke his femur.

The marine biologist, who works at the Scottish Association for Marine Science (SAMS) near Oban, said: “I was just getting up to leave the shoreline, when I turned and slipped on the icy rocks, landing on my hip and my elbow. 

"There’s a chip out of my elbow now but the real pain was in my hip and leg. I broke my other femur in 2019 and when I looked down I saw something all too familiar - my legs weren’t the same length anymore and so I knew what had happened.

“I couldn’t stand up and was starting to get cold, so I shouted for help. It keeps me awake at night, the feeling I had in that moment of utter isolation. It was so still and quiet that I heard my voice echo off the hills on the far side of the loch, followed by complete silence.

“That was the most frightening time. It was an absolute declaration that no-one was out there, no-one was listening. I realised that unless I could raise the emergency services myself, I was going to die there.”

Ben had packed extra clothing and had a thick towel to sit on, keeping him off the frosty ground, but his phone had no signal and the battery power had dropped to 12 per cent in the freezing temperatures.

Dragging himself further up the shore, he eventually managed to get sufficient reception to call 999.

“I requested the Coastguard, because getting a regular ambulance to that location would have been difficult and I was running out of time,” said Ben.

“That was crucial, because the emergency response needed to be fast to reach me. I was able to give my precise location using the What 3 Words app. The light was fading but a Coastguard helicopter and the Oban lifeboat arrived at the same time within 45 minutes.

“While waiting, I realised how cold I was getting and because the sun had set behind the mountains the temperature was dropping further. Eventually, I saw a white light from the helicopter come over the top of Ben Cruachan and heard the thrum of the lifeboat engine. The cavalry had arrived.”