Fisherman dies after boat capsizes

A fisherman has died after a scallop boat he was travelling in ran into trouble in the early hours.

Shetland Coastguard received a mayday call at 2.55am from the Diamond, reporting a position and that they had hit rocks and were going over. No further contact was made.

Two crew were recovered from the sea overnight and taken to hospital.

Police have said one man has died as a result of the incident named Leonard Scollay, aged 40, from Lerwick.

The other man remains in hospital in a stable condition.

Aith lifeboat spokesman Elizabeth Atia, said the vessel had struck a rock on approach to the West Burrafirth Pier and the vessel quickly capsized and sank. There were two people on board.

The coastguard  helicopter was scrambled from Sumburgh and the coastguard requested the launch of Aith lifeboat to help with the recovery at West Burrafirth.

When the lifeboat arrived a life raft was found inflated but empty.

Three fishing vessels in the area also responded to the coastguard and a local vessel, Diana Maxwell, recovered one man from the water and administered CPR.

A second man, wearing a survival suit, was recovered aboard the Aith RNLI lifeboat and was wrapped in blankets and kept warm.

The two vessels made their way to West Burrafirth pier where both men were transferred to the coastguard helicopter and airlifted to Gilbert Bain Hospital.