The scenario was set up by the Scottish Casualties Network (SCN) to test and help heighten the skills of Far North search-and-rescue services.

Actors from the group accurately portrayed a number of injuries and wounds – including fractures, head injuries, bleeding and burns – through realistic role play.

Alan Thomson, chairman of SCN's central area, explained: "When people are working with their own colleagues they never get any sort of realism. Most of our casualties are really well trained – they can simulate injuries but also simulate responses, which is really the important bit.

"Some of these of these guys, when they are simulating shock, will have a pulse over 100. They're really highly skilled and will stay in role until someone in a yellow jacket tells them to come out.

"Most involved are trained first-aiders and it gives them a chance to practise their skills as well. If you have an injury then you've really got to know it inside out."

Mr Thomson added that working in partnership is vital for the services as each has its own limitations. "Today there's only so far the lifeboat can come in and there's only so far the coastguard can go out," he explained.

David Bertram, chairman of SCN's north area, stressed: "Events like this are very important because it gives the coastguard live casualties to work with. If you're working with a dummy it doesn't scream if you move it the wrong way, whereas if you have acting and reacting live casualties then if you don't treat the casualty properly they'll let you know."

Thurso's lifeboat crew was also deployed to the scene, although the life-saving volunteers played a limited role in the operation.

Yesterday, coxswain William Munro assured the public that there had been no difficulties with the lifeboat, and explained that the crew had been carrying out a number of checks before launching The Taylors' rigid inflatable Y-boat to help in the rescue.

However, by the time the boat was launched, volunteers from SCN were already being taken ashore after spending a considerable amount of time in the water.

Mr Bertram said: "We did wonder why the lifeboat wasn't taking the casualties up because they were in the water for quite a while and were starting to get cold.

"All of our casualties have wetsuits on to keep them warm – if they were real casualties they would have been suffering from hypothermia. Just as the boat was coming we started pulling them out. Everything goes on safety – our casualties know their limits."

Coastguard incident officer William MacKenzie, who advised safety officers from SCN to pull out the casualties, said that the exercise went well. He felt, however, that the team were a little short-handed.

"Our aim is to recover and give first aid to casualties, so in a real situation the ambulance would have looked after them after they were recovered. Melvich and Helmsdale would have been called if the incident had been real.

"I think the SCN were happy with what we did, though. We do exercises regularly and we have training days every month but it is nice to see people who will act – and they certainly acted the part."

Over 20 members of SCN, including some from the Thurso area, were involved in a series of events held over the weekend as part of the group's biennial camp.

On Saturday morning the group took part in a mountain-bike challenge at Dunbeath involving a barn fire scenario.

* On Sunday SCN took part in a joint exercise, based on an earthquake scenario, with Caithness and Sutherland Search Team (CASST) and Trossachs Search and Rescue team at Spittal Quarry.

Members of a local palaeontology group, who had been digging at the quarry, were "injured" when a large rock fell during the supposed quake.

On further investigation, it emerged that several members of the group had wandered away and were working on their own. Their precise location and numbers were not known.

As a result of extreme atmospheric conditions, contact had also been lost with two light aircraft which had been operating in the vicinity at the time. As part of the scenario there were unconfirmed reports that they may have collided and crashed nearby.

CASST along with Trossachs SAR were called in to search the quarry and find those missing. SCN was also contacted to provide emergency first aid to the victims of the "disaster".

Watched by a number of members of the public, including Labour's parliamentary candidate John McKendrick, the exercise took several hours to complete.

Three teams each comprising a search dog and handler, search buddy and trained first-aider were allocated a search area and set about the task. The red team, led by David Ashpool with Tee Dee, were the first to find a casualty less than five minutes from the start.

It was extremely unlikely that any of the casualties would have been found without the search dogs as they were buried under flagstone and still difficult to see even after their position had been indicated by the dog.

All casualties in the scenario were safely recovered.

See this week's Caithness Courier for pictures from the exercise

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