Two shell fish divers have died after getting into difficulty off the coast of the Outer Hebrides.

A ferry skipper raised the alarm around 11.20am with Stornoway Coastguard when he noticed a small unmanned boat off Castlebay in Barra on Saturday.

The coastguard helicopter and rescue teams were sent to the scene and the divers were found by Barra lifeboat crew at around 1pm.

Both divers died at the scene.

A Maritime and Coastguard Agency spokeswoman said: "Two shell fish divers have been recovered by the RNLI Barra lifeboat after a search in Castle Bay, Barra Island, this morning.

"At 11.20am Stornoway Coastguard was contacted by a local ferry boat skipper who had noticed two divers go into the water and not resurface, leaving their small boat unmanned."

Police Scotland said inquiries were at an early stage to establish the full circumstances of the deaths.