Rescuers heard cries for help on Loch Awe but could only see thick fog, by Chris Watt

IT was a desperate race against time which ended in tragedy - the loss of two brothers and their two friends. As fog rolled over Loch Awe, rescuers could hear the cries of the four men, but could not locate them in the cold, deep water.

By the time two of the four anglers were found and hauled out of the loch, they were dying. Both men were declared dead a short time later at the scene. The two other men remain missing.

It began on Friday night when four friends - brothers Steven and William Carty, aged 42 and 47, 30-year-old Craig Currie and Thomas Douglas, aged 36, said by relatives to be the Cartys' brother-in-law - set out for one of their regular fishing trips on Loch Awe in Argyll.

They were all experienced anglers, and they had often tested their skills at the loch, one of their favourite spots.

The men got in to trouble in foggy, adverse conditions on the loch - and their boat foundered in the dark.

Emergency services were called to the scene at around 3.45am yesterday. Rescuers could hear the men shout as they struggled in the freezing water. But poor visibility hampered rescue efforts and the men lost consciousness before they were found. The bodies of William Carty and Craig Currie were recovered from the water yesterday, but their companions were still missing this morning.

The four friends were experienced anglers and owned the boat they were sailing.

A close relative of the Cartys told the Sunday Herald that they regularly made the trip from their Glasgow homes to fish on Loch Awe at weekends. The two men whose bodies were found were both wearing life-jackets, police said.

Steven Carty, one of the two still missing, leaves behind a wife, Elizabeth, and two adult daughters. He lived in Bishopbriggs and was a tree-surgeon, running his own business for the past 20 years.

A relative of the dead brothers, who did not wish to be named, said: "It's tragic. They had another brother and a sister, and they were a close family."

Steven Carty's daughters, in their early twenties, were said to be devastated by his death, and his wife yesterday drove to Oban to take part in an identification. The brothers' mother, in her seventies, also lives in Ruchill near to other relatives. All four of the men are believed to have been married.

Police said the tragedy occurred when the anglers got into difficulties returning from a pub across the loch to their campsite, where a fifth member of their party had remained with the tents at the water's edge.

Owners of The Tight Line pub said the men were sober, and spoke highly of them. Proprietor Marie Sommerville said: "They were just really nice guys. It's just unbelievable.

"They were definitely not drunk. The weather was just a pea-souper. I think it is just a tragic accident."

The 38-year-old in the camp woke at 3am and realised his friends had not returned. He heard their cries from the loch and alerted the emergency services.

Authorities were first called around 3.45am, and an intensive search was launched involving police, fire and rescue personnel, Oban mountain rescue teams and an RAF helicopter.

But poor conditions hampered their progress.

Two bodies were found shortly after 6am. The search continued throughout the day, but was called off in the evening as darkness fell.

Inspector Andrew Mosley, of Strathclyde Police, said: "The weather conditions have not helped us at all.

"We've been down to very, very low visibility on the loch which makes a very difficult operating environment for the emergency services, but also from a practical point of view, actually trying to see any debris or any other evidence that may be on the loch."

Despite the conditions, a Strathclyde Fire and Rescue boat helped officers find two of the men, and the search for the two missing men and their boat will continue today.

Loch Awe is popular with anglers but has claimed many lives over the years.