TWO young boys have died and a man is missing after a canoe capsized in Loch Gairloch in the Highlands.

The youngsters, aged five and three, were rescued from the water by a coastguard helicopter but later died in Raigmore Hospital in Inverness.

A third child, a five-year-old girl, was also pulled from the sea loch and is in a serious condition in hospital.

A major search of the loch involving lifeboats and two helicopters continued into last night for the missing 34-year-old and is expected to resume again this morning.

A 10-year-old girl who was also on board managed to swim to safety and raise the alarm, along with a 36-year-old man. She was uninjured but the other children were rushed to hospital for treatment.

A spokesman for Northern Constabulary said: "Police can confirm that the two boys aged three and five years old who were recovered from the water off Gairloch and conveyed to Raigmore Hospital, Inverness, have since died.

"Search efforts for the missing 34-year-old man have been suspended for the night and are due to recommence at first light. Enquires into this incident continue."

A Coastguard spokeswoman added: "At 4.15pm Stornoway Coastguard was contacted by one of the party who had made it to shore and reported that their canoe had capsized.

"Search teams continue to look for the man who is still missing."

Meanwhile, a man has died after falling overboard while on a fishing trip on Saturday. Clyde Coastguard was alerted to the incident when a ferry company reported a small unmanned boat floating near the Isle of Coll off the west coast at around 11am on Sunday.