Rescue teams have described the weekend when six people died in incidents on the water as “the worst in memory”.
A man, woman and boy died in Loch Lomond near Ardlui on Saturday evening.
It came hours after the death of an 11-year-old boy in a river near Stonehouse, South Lanarkshire.
The body of a 13-year-old boy was also recovered from the River Clyde near Lanark on Sunday, while a 16-year-old boy died near the pier at Balloch Country Park on Friday.
Deputy Assistant Chief Officer Alasdair Perry, from the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service, said: “This is the worst weekend in relation to incidents of this nature that I can remember.
“I’d like to offer my condolences, and those of everyone at the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service, to all those affected by this weekend’s tragic events.”
- Man, woman and boy die in Loch Lomond incident
Emergency services were alerted to the Ardlui incident at about 18:40 on Saturday following “reports of concern” for people in the water.
Edina Olahova, 29, her nine-year-old son, Rana Haris Ali, and their friend Muhammed Asim Riaz were pronounced dead at the scene.
Mr Riaz’s seven-year-old son was rescued and taken to hospital in Glasgow where he is in a critical condition.
Simon Jones, executive lead for water safety at the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park, said it has been a “very traumatic time” for staff involved in the search and rescue attempt.
He told the BBC’s Good Morning Scotland programme: “It has been a terrible week in the park, and of course across other parts of Scotland, with these tragic events. Our deepest sympathies go to the friends and families.
“We can’t remember a period like this. Many of our staff were closely involved and it has been very traumatic.
The RNLI say there are five steps to know how to float:
- If you fall in the water, fight your instinct to thrash around
- Lean back, extend your arms and legs
- If you need to, gently move them around to help you float
- Float until you can control your breathing
- Only then, call for help or swim to safety.
Find out more about the RNLI’s “float to live” campaign