TRAGEDY STRUCK at a Highland Perthshire beauty spot yesterday as a father-of-three was swept to his death in the River Tummel.

The drowning came on a day when temperatures soared, encouraging holidaymakers to cool off in the water and prompting a spate of rescues.

Fortunately, none of the other dramas had such tragic consequences.

On the River Tummel, would-be rescuers reached out despairingly and threw Gordon Robertson a life-line, but he was dragged away by the treacherous currents.

The 41-year-old’s body was recovered a little over two hours later by the crew of a Royal Navy rescue helicopter which was scrambled from Prestwick.

Just moments after the main body of emergency services had left the scene, the site was tranquil again.

Tellingly, however, no-one was taking the opportunity to cool off on the Tummel’s banks.

Meanwhile, four teenage boys were rescued by the Arbroath inshore lifeboat off Lunan Bay yesterday after their inflatable boat developed engine problems and began drifting.

Also, a seal-watching couple were rescued from a sandbank off Broughty Ferry after they were cut off by the tide.

The Perthshire tragedy unfolded at around 11am when Mr Robertson, of Burnside Road, Gorebridge, Midlothian, was fishing, yards from holiday chalets at the Tummel Valley Holiday Park.

Tayside Police said he had initially been in the company of others, but at the time had been left to continue fishing alone.

It was then a witness saw a man wearing chest waders disappear beneath the water.

He and onlookers tried to rescue him—one throwing a rope into the water—but the stricken angler was lost to sight.

Tayside Fire and Rescue used thermal imaging cameras to search the banks.

Frantic holidaymakers joined the search, but Mr Robertson’s body was already some distance away.

A police rescue launch was called to the popular getaway, some 14 miles from Pitlochry, but it was not needed.

An eyewitness, who did not wish to be named, said he found it difficult to speak of what he had seen.

“I was the last person to talk to him,” he said.

“I was in the water with him and tried my best to save him, but he was dragged away. I couldn’t do anything.”

The man added, “I just want to try and put it out of my mind. I don’t want to relive it.”

Yesterday, staff at the holiday park were shocked but continued to work.

Park manager Gary Gough said he did not wish to make a statement until police had concluded their investigation.

One member of staff said the water was relatively calm due to the good weather and benign conditions.

However, Inspector Delyth Cunnah of Tayside Police said the Tummel can be deceptive.

“The river is fairly fast-flowing, but it’s not until you get into the water that you realise just how strong the current is.

“It also has a tendency to rise and fall very quickly and that is one of the contributing factors we are looking at.”

Mr Robertson is understood to have been on holiday in the area with his wife, three children and a family friend.

As with all sudden deaths, a report on the circumstances will be submitted to the procurator fiscal in Perth.

The Lunan Bay drama happened yesterday afternoon when the Arbroath lifeboat RNLI Inchcape and the station’s inshore boat Duncan Fergusson were launched to go to the assistance of the four boys.

The boys, all in their mid-teens, were drifting off the south end of Lunan Bay.

They were in a rigid inflatable craft off Ethie Haven at around 12.30pm when the boat’s engine developed a fault.

They found themselves drifting with the tide, eventually becoming entangled in fixed fishing nets.

The inshore lifeboat, under the command of full-time mechanic Allan Russell, was first on the scene.

After freeing the boat from the netting, it towed the stricken vessel to the beach, where it had been launched from a trailer.

None of the boys was injured.

In a separate incident, another three teenage boys had a narrow escape when their lilo was swept out to sea.

A passer-by spotted them drifting almost 200 yards off Balmedie Beach, near Aberdeen, at around 4.30pm.

Two coastguard vessels were launched and the boys were helped by a boat from the RNLI.

A spokeswoman for the coastguard said, “A 999 call was made after someone spotted them in some distress out in the water.

“We had the teenagers back onshore within half an hour, and they have all been spoken to now.”

On the Tay, the two nature-watchers had to be rescued by a lifeboat after becoming stranded by the incoming tide.

The man and woman, in their mid-20s, were watching seals when they became cut off on the sandbanks off Barnhill at around 5pm.

They tried and failed to swim to safety, then returned to the sandbank and used a mobile phone to call the emergency services.

A lifeboat was dispatched from Broughty Ferry to aid the pair and they were quickly returned to dry land.

No medical attention was required.

After their drama the lucky duo thanked the lifeboat crew for going out to rescue them—and warned others not to venture out onto the sandbanks and watch the tide at all times.

Yesterday’s rescue is the eighth serious incident the Broughty Ferry lifeboat crews have had to deal with in the past week.

A spokesman for the station said the fine weather is encouraging people to venture into the water.

He warned that recklessness is putting a strain on volunteer lifeboat crews.

He added, “Once again our message to the public is never walk out on sandbanks and be sensible next to the sea.

“If in doubt about any activity you wish to participate in near the shore or in the water, ask us and make sure what you’re doing is safe.”