Loch Lomond drownings: Family pays tribute 'loveliest little boy' after tragic accident at Scottish beauty spot Pulpit Rock

A family has paid tribute to lost loved ones after a mother, son and friend of the family died in a tragic accident at a Loch Lomond beauty spot.

Edina Olahova, 29, and her son Rana Haris Ali, nine, as well as a family friend Mohammad Asim Raza, 41, drowned at the Scottish loch on Saturday.

A seven-year-old boy, believed to be the son of Mr Raza, was taken by ambulance to the Royal Hospital for Children in Glasgow where he is in intensive care.

A statement given to Sky News on behalf of Rana and Ms Olahova's family, said: "The family is heartbroken at the death of our charming young boy in what was a tragic drowning accident on Saturday.

Scotland drownings: Family pays tribute 'loveliest little boy' after tragic accident at Loch Lomond

"Haris Ali was the loveliest little boy."

A Police Scotland statement said it received the call at about 6.40pm on Saturday. It added: “A multi-agency operation took place and sadly three people were pronounced dead at the scene.

“A report into the incident will be sent to the procurator fiscal.”

Six people, four of them children, drowned in Scotland on Friday and Saturday alone.

An 11-year-old boy, named locally as Dean Irvine, was pulled from the water at the Alexander Hamilton Memorial Park in Stonehouse, Lanarkshire on Saturday afternoon, a 13-year-old boy’s body has been recovered from the River Clyde and 16-year-old Connor Markward died in Loch Lomond on Friday afternoon.

Scotland’s Health Secretary Humza Yousaf spoke about the incidents on BBC’s Good Morning Scotland saying: “First and foremost my condolences go out to all of the families and the communities that have been affected.

"I think all of us have been rocked by these tragedies.

"I certainly spoke to a couple of my ministerial colleagues over the weekend as well as this news unfolded and certainly whatever we can do as the government to support those in our national parks - or indeed other stakeholders - to make our parks, our lochs, our tourist hotspots as safe as possible then the government's committed to do that.

"But at the moment all I can say is just what a tragedy this is and I hope people will heed the very important safety advice."

A message from the Editor:

Thank you for reading this article. We're more reliant on your support than ever as the shift in consumer habits brought about by Coronavirus impacts our advertisers.

If you haven't already, please consider supporting our trusted, fact-checked journalism by taking out a digital subscription.