A fisherman has been airlifted to hospital after suffering a suspected heart attack on a boat in the Minch on Wednesday.
The airlift was complicated after the fishing vessel with two people onboard – which works out of Lochinver – snagged its nets on the bottom, and the second man did not know where they were.
The man radioed Stornoway coastguard to report his colleague had collapsed, believing he had a cardiac arrest. He was unsure of the vessel’s position.
Stornoway coastguard helicopter and Lochinver RNLI lifeboat went to their aid and located the boat in the middle of the Minch, some 14 miles east of Lewis.
In the meantime, the trawler’s gear caught on the bottom, stopping the boat and causing it to lose steerage – a hazardous situation for getting a helicopter winchman onboard.
Instead, the rescue winchman was lowered to the RNLI lifeboat and then transferred onto the fishing boat along with two lifeboat men.
The casualty was hoisted up into the helicopter and – after his condition deteriorated during the short flight – was taken directly to the Western Isles Hospital in Stornoway around 2.10pm.
The lifeboat crew helped free the fishing boat’s nets and escorted it to Lochinver.
There is no word on the casualty’s condition.