Stob Coire nan Lochan. Photo: John Fielding CC-BY-SA-2.0

Two men were injured after an avalanche swept them 1,000ft down a mountainside.

The mountaineers, who were roped together, were caught in the avalanche about 1.45pm on Saturday while on Stob Coire nan Lochan in Glencoe.

The men, from London and aged 33 and 39, were carried about 300m down ‘avalanche gully’ in the incident.

One of the men had minor leg injuries but the other was treated for a suspected broken back after the fall, which occurred near the summit of the 1,115m (3,658ft) mountain.

John Grieve, team leader of Glencoe Mountain Rescue Team said: “Arrochar Mountain Rescue Team was on an exercise nearby and went across to help the men.

“They put out a radio call that I picked up and Glencoe team made its way up to the site.

“There were no helicopters available in the whole of Scotland at that time.

“One of the guys was able to walk down with us but the other was showing signs of a spinal injury so we took him down by stretcher.”

A Royal Navy Sea King helicopter from HMS Gannet in Ayrshire was then able to join the operation and the two were airlifted from a site below the East Face and flown to Belford Hospital in Fort William.

A spokesperson for Northern Constabulary said one of the men was transferred to the Southern General Hospital in Glasgow yesterday, but his injuries are not thought to be life-threatening.

Eight Arrochar MRT members and 21 volunteers from the Glencoe team took part in the rescue.