Banff fishermen rescued unharmed off Unst as their boat sinks

May 23, 2011 0

A crew of five escaped uninjured when their fishing vessel sank off the coat of Unst yesterday.

The Banff-registered whitefish boat Beryl had been fishing 29 miles north-east of the island when she began taking water aboard.

The coastguard was alerted to the problem at around 2.30pm and was assisted by a nearby vessel, the Buckie-registered Onward, which took the Beryl’s crew aboard.

The coastguard rescue helicopter 102 had been tasked to take pumps to the boat which was already listing heavily to one side when the crew arrived on the scene. Nothing could be done to save the boat and it sank around two hours later.

The crew were taken into Lerwick by the Onward, which is currently moored in the harbour.