Four Scottish fishermen were airlifted to safety at the weekend after their trawler sank in rough seas.
The crew onboard the Fraserburgh registered Esorah issued a mayday just after 1om on Saturday reporting that they were about 100 miles north-east of Aberdeen.
The call for help was picked up by the crews aboard another trawler the Resilent who then alerted Aberdeen Coastguards.
Coastguard teams mounted a major rescue operation and scrambled a Coastguard Rescue Helicopter from Sumburgh, while three oil support vessels and the Resilent also made their way to the scene of the stricken trawler.
The four fishermen managed to evacuate the 50foot prawn trawler Esorah and were found on a life-raft by supply vessel Porto Salvo.
The fishermen were taken aboard the supply vessel until the rescue helicopter arrived and winched them to safety.
They were then transported to Aberdeen airport where an ambulance was waiting to take them to hospital.
Colin Wood, Coastguard Watch Officer for Aberdeen Coastguards said the area was being battered by north-westerly winds of between 35-40 knots, with waves up to 60 foot, when the incident happened.
He added: “ The crew of this fishing trawler very fortunate they were able to evacuate to their life-raft after making the mayday call. Even though they were unable to give any information about their distress situation, they transmitted the most important piece of information their position. Fortunately there were other vessels not too far away who were able to get there quickly and get them onboard”.
Coastguard teams kept watch over the trawler as it disappeared beneath the surface. The last sighting of the stricken trawler was at 2,45pm on Saturday when it sank.
