Three offshore support crewmen flown to hospital after rescue craft incident

Three crewmen from an offshore oil support vessel have been airlifted to hospital in Lerwick after falling into the North Sea.

The men, who are all from the support vessel Enea, were taking part in a routine launch of a fast rescue craft when the accident happened shortly after 8.30am this morning.

Two of the men were quickly recovered, however the third man got into difficulty when he initially became trapped under the boat.

The coastguard’s rescue helicopter was scrambled and sent to the scene, around 100 miles north-east of Sumburgh.

A link-call was maintained between medical staff and the skipper.

The men were flown to the emergency landing site at Clickimin and transferred to the Gilbert Bain Hospital for treatment. Two of the men were later discharged but one was admitted and was described by a hospital spokeswoman as being in a “stable” condition.