AN ANGLER was feared dead today after he was swept out to sea by a wave.
Coastguards called off a massive search for the man who had been fishing with a friend on the Aberdeen coast.
It is thought his distraught pal used a mobile phone to call emergency services who then launched a land and sea search.
Rescue teams were scrambled to the scene as heavy rain lashed the area and waves crashed on to the rocks.
Aberdeen Coastguard received reports of the incident at Red Rocks near Cove. But shortly before 11am today the search was terminated.
A Coastguard spokesman said the search proved fruitless.
He said: “The search started at about 6.15am this morning and he was probably in the water before that.
“So he had been in the water for the best part of five hours and unfortunately that is way outside the margin of his life expectancy.”
The spokesman said conditions would have contained the man in a very small area and would have been blowing him towards the shore.
But despite a “thorough” search in “vile” conditions, no trace of the man was found.
The call came from the missing man’s friend, after the pair had been fishing on rocks two miles south of the city.
Teams from Aberdeen, Portlethen, Stonehaven and Gourdon were all sent as well as the city’s RNLI all-weather lifeboat.
An RAF Lossiemouth team in helicopter Rescue 137 was dispatched to carry out an aerial search using night vision goggles.
A coastguard spokes-woman confirmed the man, who had been wearing a waterproof jacket, had no survival suit.
The water was thought to be just 6C (43F) and weather conditions were not good.
A coastguard spokeswoman today said it would be foolish for anyone to fish off the rocks without wearing life-saving equipment.
Bob Blocksidge, secretary of Aberdeen Thistle Sea Angling Club, said: “Two of our members were out at Red Rocks last night but they decided to call it a day as it is was getting dangerous, and the weather was awful.”