Search around Isle of Rum for man missing in dinghy

Rescuers have ramped up their search for a man who went missing after leaving his yacht in a dinghy in the Inner Hebrides.

Andy Samuel, 59, was last seen off Kinloch on Rum, a small island south of Skye, at about midnight on Tuesday.

The alarm was raised at 22:00 on Thursday when he did not move his yacht to another location as planned.

A Police Scotland helicopter joined the search on Saturday morning and the force said inquiries were ongoing.

The Maritime and Coastguard Agency said police and Mull's Tobermory RNLI lifeboat made searches on Friday.

On Thursday, the search effort involved the Stornoway coastguard helicopter and Mallaig's RNLI lifeboat.

A dinghy thought to belong to Mr Samuel was found in the area.

Coastguard rescue teams from Mallaig, Eigg, Muck, Kyle, Dunvegan and Portree were also involved.

Anyone with information about Mr Samuel's whereabouts has been urged to contact police.

Inspector Isla Campbell said: "Our thoughts are with Andy's family at this difficult time.

"Officers are currently conducting searches alongside partner agencies in attempts to trace him."