Death crew not wearing life vests

Coastguard tug Anglian Sovereign anchored near the upturned Aquila

Three men who died and a fourth who was rescued when their boat capsized off the coast of Scotland were not wearing lifejackets, coastguards have said.

The boat overturned off Ardnamurchan Point in the west Highlands on Monday.

The skipper and owner of the Cumbria-based scallop dredger Aquila, has been named as Tony Hayton, 45, from Cumbria.

Peter Hilton and Thomas Sanderson - both aged 52 and from Cumbria - also died in the tragedy. The 32-year-old survivor does not want to be named.

He was picked up by a yacht, a twister called Arran Comrade, and has been released from hospital.

The other three crewmen were recovered from the water but were all pronounced dead on arrival at Broadford Hospital on the Isle of Skye.

A Maritime and Coastguard Agency spokesman said he was sorry to say none of the four was wearing a lifejacket.

He added that wearing the gear may have helped to save their lives.

It's very much a terrible tragedy John McAllister Scallop Association

Mr Hayton and his crew were described as experienced. Tributes have been paid to the skipper on fishing website, Trawler Photos.

Scallop Association vice chairman John McAllister told BBC Radio Scotland he was "devastated" by the tragedy.

Mr McAllister, who said he knew the skipper and the crew, said they were "very experienced" men with good knowledge of the waters where they were fishing.

"It's very much a terrible tragedy," he said.

He discounted the possibility of a submarine snagging the vessel's gear - "certainly not, not in the area he was fishing, I would rule that out right away," he said.

Mr McAllister added: "At the moment it's much too early to speculate what went wrong, but something went wrong very, very quickly."

The Aquila was based in Maryport, Cumbria.

James Mitchell, a former teacher of Mr Hayton who also fished alongside him out of Maryport, said he was a respected skipper, very experienced in the Irish Sea, western Scotland and the east coast.

He said: "He specialised in scalloping and owned a well-tested, well-proven boat - the Aquila. He also comes from a well-respected Maryport family.

The crew of the Aquila were said to be experienced fishermen

"The fishing community won't be the same without him. We'll miss him, his commitment, his skills, his determination, his vitality.

"He had a very experienced crew which had a really positive effect on the Maryport fishing community."

Bertie Armstrong, of the Scottish Fishermen's Federation, said the organisation's thoughts and those of the Scottish fleet were with the bereaved families.

The Marine Accident Investigation Branch will investigate why the boat capsized in relatively good conditions.

The Royal Navy said the area is a submarine exercise area, but there were no operations going on there at the time.

A spokesman said submarines radioed in as a matter of course after an accident such as this and it was absolutely clear that no navy vessels were involved.

The alarm was sparked when a member of the public saw the boat overturn.

Michael Mulford, from the Rescue Co-ordination Centre at RAF Kinloss, said that despite the best efforts of emergency crews, the men lost their lives.

A coastguard tug - Anglian Sovereign - was anchored near the upturned hull of the Aquila as a precaution against pollution from the boat.