AN official warning has been issued after a plan to "storm Loch Ness" went viral on social media.
Inspired by the success of a campaign calling for people to "storm Area 51" in America, which has more than 1.8 million people saying they'll be taking part, mystery-hunters turned their sights to Scotland.
Almost 20,000 people have said they will be attending an event titled "Storm Loch Ness, Nessie can't hide from us all", with another 40,000 expressing their interest.
"The time is now for us to find dat big boi," organisers wrote.
One Facebook user, Ryan Murdoch, posted a suggestion for the expedition: "Here troops, I've got a plan. We all dive into the middle of the loch with our new UFOs we steal from Area 51 and start punching and interrogating all the fish."
However, while it won't be guarded by military personnel with permission to kill, the Loch Ness RNLI team has issued a warning of the safety risks involving in the plan to storm Loch Ness.
On the hunt for Nessie, they said: "With no US Army involved, Loch Ness looks a little less hazardous than storming Area 51, but here we have our own set of problems!
"Our Atlantic 85 lifeboat has an impressive survivor carrying capacity, but even that will be stretched by the *edit- 11,900* “attendees” of this event!
"Jokes aside, here are some quick Loch Ness facts: The Loch is 230m deep – that’s nearly two and a half times the height of Big Ben.
"The water temperature is cold!! In fact, an average of 6 degrees centigrade all year round, meaning cold water shock and hypothermia are real dangers.
"Weather conditions and water state can deteriorate rapidly, going from flat calm to a large swell in minutes.
"There are very few areas on the shoreline where it is possible to make it up to a road.
"Waves are wind generated rather than tidal, so they behave differently to how users might expect.
"Its fresh water is less buoyant than salt, meaning more effort is required to float/swim.
"Official recorded wave height 13 feet, but unofficial reports of up to 16 feet.
"Nessie 1 - 0 Bandwagon."
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