Two die in gales

The boat capsized in the Port of Irvine

Two men were killed when their motor boat capsized during the strongest June gales to hit Scotland in more than 30 years.

The victims, William Blair, 38, from Irvine and William Oliver, 38 from Stevenson, were on board the vessel with two others when they lost control in the Port of Irvine on the west coast of Scotland.

Two wearing life jackets, Thomas Blair, 35, and Martin Crawford, 30, both from Kilwinning, were plucked safely from the sea by Greenock Coastguard. Mr Blair and Mr Oliver, without the safety clothing, were killed.

John Griffiths, of Greenock Coastguard, said: "The boat is about 15ft long. It appeared to have capsized after getting into difficulty during force six winds. We know that the two who died were not wearing life jackets."

Oil rig adrift

Earlier on Tuesday, an oil rig with 77 people on board went adrift in the North Sea.

The Bideford Dolphin had been working in the Snorre oilfield about 90 miles north-west of Bergen, on the west coast of Norway.

Rescue helicopters and ships were scrambled and the rig, which had dragged three of its four anchor chains and moved about 400 metres, was stabilised as winds abated.

John Passmore: Rescued from boat

Waves in the area reached 15 metres high.

The rig is owned by the Dolphin AS and was working for Norsk Hydro ASA.

A major search for a catamaran off Unst in Shetland ended when its yachtsman was airlifted to safety

Daily Telegraph journalist John Passmore was sailing single handed round the UK coastline on board his 27ft vessel, Lottie Warren.

Record winds

Much of Scotland has been buffeted by the strongest winds to hit in June for at least 30 years.

Power supplies have been cut, cars and houses have been damaged and major rescue operations have been launched at sea as a result of the gales.

The Bideford Dolphin

Coastguards from Stornoway braved treacherous conditions on Monday evening as they brought to safety injured crewmen from a vessel in the mid-Atlantic.

The Seumar was more than 200 miles west of Benbecula when the Spaniards were airlifted ashore.

One of the men had an injured ankle and the other had suffered three broken fingers in an accident on board.

Both casualties were taken to the Western Isles Hospital in Stornoway.

Coastguard rescue

The coastguard team was in action again on Tuesday - along with an RAF Nimrod - after the Icelandic fishing vessel the Hafnarey lost the use of navigation equipment.

Waves smashed windows in the wheelhouse as the boat and its nine crew were being escorted to Shetland.

Trees were uprooted in the storm

Onshore it has been the windiest June day in Scotland for at least 30 years with gales of more than 80 miles-per-hour in some areas.

Electricity supplies have been cut off to more than 1,000 homes between the north of Scotland and the central belt.

Cars have been damaged by fallen trees and branches.

Roads have been blocked by debris and the threat of falling masonry.

There has been widespread disruption to motorists and ferry passengers and hundreds of offshore oilworkers have faced cancelled flights.

The low pressure affecting the country is the lowest recorded since records began in 1871.