A Dundee garage owner was saved from almost certain death when he slipped on ice and fell 50 feet down a waterfall and into the freezing depths below.
Steven Craig was on a camping trip in Braemar with friend Eric Pirie and his son at the weekend when he slipped on a rock and slid down the ice-covered rock face before splashing head first and fully clothed into the deep slush pool.
After battling to stay afloat for around 10 minutes, with his clothing and strong currents pulling him under water at Lin o’ Dee, Steven said he was seconds away from drowning on Sunday.
That’s when quick thinking hero Eric, known as Ricky, rushed to save his friend, throwing him a lifeline in the shape of a tarpaulin the friends had used as shelter for their hammocks.
With help from his son, Ricky Junior, the pair managed to pull him out of the water and onto the rocky riverbank.
Steven, 43, who lives in Birkhill and owns car repair garage D&B Craig in Lochee, was then taken to a nearby campervan where he was helped into dry clothes and attended to by the rescue services.
A few more seconds in the water, Steven said, and he would have succumbed to his exhaustion and been dragged into the freezing depths of the river.
“I was at the top showing ‘wee’ Ricky the waterfall just by the bridge, taking some pictures,” Steven said.
“I stood on a wee rounded stone and slipped and then just bounced on my back down the rocks.
“I tried to stop myself and turned round to grab the rocks, I was in a crack and then went right over and into the waterfall.
“Just as I fell in I turned over and bang, right into the pool, under the water.
“I was down for ages, it must have been a good 30 seconds at least. I tried coming up a couple of times and took a breath but kept going under. I could see the light at the top and I managed to get my head out.
“It was just really hard to stay on the top with all the layers I was wearing.
“The pool I was in was so deep, just black and cavernous and the rocks all around it are smooth all the way around it.
“Ricky was trying to break a tree branch to get something to reach down, but I knew he was never going to be able to do that.
“He ran off to our campsite to get something and I thought if I don’t get out of this pool I’m done – I’m not going to last long in this freezing mass where the waterfall came into.”
Steven said he tried not to panic but became more afraid as the weight of his waterlogged coat caused him to sink.
“I pulled myself into the flow and that was what pushed me out of that pool and down a wee rapid and into the next pool,” he added.
“That was another spell under the water but I kept fighting to get up and breathe.
“I wouldn’t have lasted much longer but that’s when Ricky threw the tarp to me and pulled me out.
“He’s my absolute hero. I can’t really thank him enough.”
‘Lucky to escape injuries’
Steven says the only injury, apart from bruises, was a broken rib which he only discovered when he worked out at the gym on Monday, just a day after his ordeal.
He credits his overall fitness as part of the reason he was able to stay afloat until he was rescued.
Ricky, 47, added modestly: “There wasn’t much else I could do, I just saw him in that pool and thought he was gone.
“It was like a washing machine and we couldn’t get down the rocks.
“I couldn’t break any trees and there was no rope or anything so I ran down to the campsite and tried to get some string but I couldn’t find it, so I just grabbed a tarp, anything that was long and ran back up.
“It must have taken about five minutes and I honestly didn’t expect to see him when I got back.
“He was nearly done when I got to him, he wouldn’t have been able to get out himself.
“It needed me and my son to pull him out over the rocks.
“It was a brilliant feeling when he got out, I don’t think I was going to manage it on my own.
“I still can’t stop thinking about it.”
Ricky added that his 23-year-old son had raised the alarm at the car park and other walkers had alerted the emergency services.
Scottish Fire and Rescue Officers (SFRS) arrived first and helped warm Steven up before paramedics arrived to stave off hypothermia.
A spokeswoman for SFRS said two boats and four appliances attended, from Braemar, Ballater, Balmoral, Perth and Kingsway in Dundee after receiving a call from a member of the public at 10.42am on Sunday.
The last appliance left the scene at 12.04pm, she said.
A Scottish Ambulance Service spokesperson said: “We received a call at 10.43 on Sunday to attend an incident at the Linn of Dee.
“An ambulance was dispatched and a patient was treated on scene.”
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