A major probe is under way after a man died and four others were taken to hospital following an incident onboard a north-east fishing vessel.
Emergency services were called to Fraserburgh harbour at around 2pm yesterday following reports of a crew member falling ill on-board the Sunbeam.
Despite the best efforts of those at the scene the man was pronounced dead a short time later. His next of kin have been informed.
The four other fishermen were treated in hospital but are not believed to be in a life-threatening condition.
Shell-shocked crewmates were last night struggling to come to terms with the incident.
Police, ambulance, the fire service and Coastguard rescue teams rushed to the quayside and remained at the scene for several hours.
Firefighters with breathing apparatus boarded the pelagic vessel as part of the investigation.
Fraserburgh lifeboat coxswain Vic Sutherland helped direct emergency crews to the scene.
He said: “We could see the ambulance coming in but we didn’t know it was for.
“I ran up the road to flag down the ambulances and fire engines.
“A lot of those lads will have been on the boat for years and the pelagic fleet is quite close.”
Jimmy Buchan, chairman of the Scottish Seafood Association, said: “Firstly my thoughts are with the families of the people involved.
“I’m flabbergasted that once again this community has been hit with another tragedy where someone has lost their life.
“Unfortunately that’s the nature of the industry that we are in, these things occur and we have to learn lessons from them.”
Police are working with the fire service, Health and Safety Executive and the Marine Accident Investigation Branch to find out exactly what happened.
Last night, detective inspector Alan Armit gave an update at the quayside and said they were working to establish the cause of the crewman’s death.
He said: “I can confirm an incident happened on board one of the vessels in Fraserburgh harbour which unfortunately has resulted in one fatality.
“There have been four casualties as a result and thankfully there are no serious injuries in relation to them.
“We will continue to work with our fire service colleagues to establish what has happened.
“A number of crew were on board at the time and there is a number of partners working together on this and we hope to conclude things as quickly as we can.”
It is understood the Sunbeam had returned to Fraserburgh harbour from a fishing trip just last week.