Rescue after boat sinks in Forth

Steve Currie and his team of three rescued the men from the sea

The helmsman of a lifeboat crew who saved three men after their boat sank in the Forth has urged people to wear the proper equipment when out at sea.

Steve Currie said the Kirkcaldy men, all in their mid 20s, were not wearing lifejackets while out on a speedboat in Burntisland Bay on Wednesday.

He said the trio would also have suffered hypothermia if they had been in the water much longer.

The boat, which broke down and filled up with water, sank at about 1830 BST.

I would urge everyone going on a boat to wear the proper equipment Steve Currie Kinghorn Lifeboat helmsman

The men set off a flare when the accident happened. It is not known what caused the boat to break down.

Steve Currie, Kinghorn Lifeboat helmsman, said: "When we pulled them to safety they were a bit shaken.

"If they had been in the water much longer they would have had hypothermia because the water is still very cold at this time of year.

"They were not wearing life jackets and it was getting dark so they were lucky to be back on dry land.

"I would urge everyone going on a boat to wear the proper equipment and to seek sea survival instructions from the coastguard."

The boat was towed back to shore to stop it being a hazard to other boats.

Neil Chambers, volunteer RNLI lifeboat crew at Kinghorn, said: "We went alongside the three men and recovered them to the RNLI lifeboat.

"They were given survival bags to keep they warm and out of the wind for the short journey to the nearby slipway. They were uninjured, just a bit cold."

"After landing the three men ashore, we went back out to recover some of the debris floating around the sunken boat and managed to tow it back to the slipway."