A major investigation is underway after a crab boat sank off the Western Isles in what has been described as the worst local fishing tragedy for half a century.
Two men died and another remains missing after the Stornoway-registered MFV Louisa sank off the east coast of Mingulay in the early hours of Saturday.
Another man, named locally as new dad Lachlann Armstrong, was taken to hospital after making it the shore, and has since been discharged.
Experts from the Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) flew into Stornoway yesterday to begin piecing together what happened.
It is believed the four fishermen were asleep in their bunks at anchor, about 12 miles south of Barra, unaware that the vessel was taking on water.
The crew abandoned ship onto a life raft – but there were claims last night that it had failed to properly inflate.
Two of the four men decided to leave the raft and swim for shore in the icy cold waters.
Mr Armstrong, who is in his 20s and lives in Stornoway, successfully made it, and clung onto the rocks until he was picked up by Barra lifeboat.
He was airlifted to the Western Isles Hospital in Stornoway, before being discharged.
The other man who left the life raft remained missing yesterday, with searches of the area continuing by members of the RNLI, Coastguard and police air support unit.
The rest of the crew included the vessel’s skipper, who is said to be in his mid 40s and from Stornoway, a man believed to be from Thurso, and another named locally as Chris Morrison, a father-of-two who hails from Harris.
Two bodies – understood to include the skipper – were recovered from the sea at about 9am on Saturday by the crew of Barra lifeboat, and taken ashore at Lochboisdale harbour in South Uist.
Western Isles MP Angus MacNeil said yesterday the whole community was in shock.
“Knowing people connected with the tragedy, it’s just desperately sad. Knowing people who have worked on that boat, it’s unbelievable,” he said.
“Absolutely everybody is just gutted that it has happened – sick to the pit of their stomachs.
“This is the worst for a long, long time. Maybe the worst since the late 1960s.”
Police and the MAIB are carrying out a joint investigation into the incident and a report will be submitted to the procurator fiscal.
Finlay Macleod, superintendent at the Fisherman’s Mission in Stornoway, said all four of the men made it to the life raft.
He said: “They were all being supported by the life raft as the vessel sank but the water was too cold and two crew members reached the conclusion that if they had stayed with the life raft, as they are taught to do, then hypothermia would have set in.
“They saw the shore and they thought they could try for it. Sadly only one reached it.
“Everybody’s really traumatised. It’s an absolute tragedy.
“On behalf of the mission I’ve been in touch with all the families concerned in Lewis and Harris. My colleague in Scrabster has been in contact with the family of the crewman in Thurso who didn’t survive. We’re reaching out to them.”
The coastguard received a distress alert just before 3.45am on Saturday, and the crabber’s emergency positioning beacon was activated near Mingulay.
Yesterday, Chief Inspector Alastair Garrow said: “All of the partners are determined to do everything they can to help the family and the community deal with this tragedy.
“Police Scotland have an inquiry team working alongside other agencies and the known circumstances will be reported to the procurator fiscal. There will be further investigations necessary to fully establish what has happened.”
The steel-built boat is owned by brothers Duncan and Murdo Kennedy from Marvig in South Lochs, Lewis. They were not onboard the vessel.
The Louisa – named in memory of their mother – was built for them in Cornwall in 2009. Catches are usually landed into
mainland harbours such as Uig in Skye and Ullapool.