Canoeist dies after capsizing in Tay river

Rescuers are hoping to recover the body of a teenage canoeist who died after capsizing at rapids on the river Tay in the Scottish Highlands. The 19-year-old from Cleveland became trapped in his canoe yesterday afternoon under a rock at Grandtully rapids, a popular spot for canoeists and white-water rafters near Aberfeldy in Perthshire. Emergency services, supported by a Royal Navy search and rescue helicopter, attempted to rescue him until nightfall. Tayside police said the river had been swollen by heavy rains and snow and was very fast flowing, making recovery of the body extremely difficult. "With the river in spate, the emergency services were met with very challenging conditions and their efforts to rescue the male continued, without success, until nightfall," police said. The Grandtully Premier Double, a canoeing competition due to be staged at the rapids this weekend, has been cancelled. The organisers, Slalom UK, said that "due to the tragic accident at Grandtully, as a mark of respect to family, friends and club we have decided not to hold the race this weekend". Earlier this week, a final-year student at Leeds university, Emily Parker, 20, drowned when her kayak capsized on the river Coe in Glencoe in the western Highlands. An experienced canoeist and former army cadet from Doncaster, she had tackled rivers in France and Uganda. Her family said she had been passionate about the sport since she was 12. "Emily always had boundless energy and a big smile, often described as 'lighting up a room' when she walked in. Her tragic death has left a huge void and we cannot imagine life without her," they said. Meanwhile, the search for a canoeist who went missing off the west coast of Shetland last week was called off after lifeboat crews and a coastguard helicopter failed to find him. Kester Jonathon Wigram, 51, an experienced canoeist from New Zealand who had been living on Shetland for 10 years, has been posted by police as missing. However, rescuers said last week that there was little hope he had survived if his canoe had overturned at sea.