Probe into fishing capsize deaths

Investigations are getting under way into the deaths of three fishermen whose boat capsized off the west coast of Scotland.

A fourth man was rescued when the boat overturned two miles from Ardnamurchan Point at about 1710 BST on Monday.

Police have named the skipper of the boat as Tony Hayton, 45. The scallop dredger was based in Maryport, Cumbria.

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.

He said: "The saddest thing is that the actual capsize was witnessed, which meant that the alarm was raised literally as the event happened.

"It's really very sad, that after all that effort, to have to concede that at the end of the night only one of those four is going home safe and well."

Two helicopters, two lifeboats and several other vessels were involved in the search.

By 1815 BST one man had been pulled from the water by the crew of the yacht, Arran Comrade, which had responded to a coastguard mayday call.

A coastguard spokesman said the man had not been wearing a lifejacket.

The 32-year-old was taken to hospital in Fort William but Northern Constabulary said his injuries were not life threatening.

The other three crewmen, Mr Hayton and two men aged 52, were later recovered from the water but were all pronounced dead on arrival at Broadford Hospital on the Isle of Skye.

All four crew had been recovered from the water by 2020 BST.

Local tributes

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 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."

"Something went wrong very, very quickly"

Scotland's Fisheries Secretary Richard Lochhead said: "This is a terrible tragedy and my thoughts are with the crew's families and friends and the wider fishing industry at this time.

"This reminds us all of the dangerous environment in which our fishermen work each and every day and the brave efforts that our rescue services always make to help those in need."

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."

RELATED INTERNET LINKS
Maritime and Coastguard Agency
RNLI Mallaig
Northern Constabulary
Royal Navy
MAIB
RNLI Tobermory
Trawler Photos
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites