The crew of a fishing boat have been rescued from a life raft after their vessel ran aground in Aberdeenshire.
The dramatic incident took place at around 5.50am on Monday October 24 when Fraserburgh RNLI were alerted to The Ocean Maid BA55 having got into difficulty at Cairnbulg Point.
The all-weather lifeboat raced to the scene shortly after 6am and Coastguard teams from Peterhead and Fraserburgh also scrambled to the scene, making for a hefty operation, reports AberdeenLive.
It is understood the stricken vessel went aground at a notorious black spot which has seen many ships wrecked over the years and just yards from where another boat, the Sovereign, went aground in 2005.
Photos taken at the site, which were shared on social media, show the ship completely submerged in the dark, choppy waters, having flipped on its side. Its contents appear to be spilling out in to sea.
Footage also shows waves crashing over the sinking ruin as it floats aimlessly near a body of rock. Thankfully, all four crew members were hauled to safety, having abandoned their boat for a life raft when they sensed danger.
The fishermen were taken to Fraserburgh where they were passed into the care of the Scottish Ambulance Service to be checked over. They are said to be safe and well, and are not believed to have been seriously injured.
In the meantime, the coastguard said the teams are monitoring the vessel, which appears to be sinking, with no signs of any pollution.
A spokesperson for RNLI Fraserburgh Lifeboat said: "We were requested to launch by HM Coastguard this morning and responded at 5:56am to a fishing boat that had run aground beside Cairnbulg Beacon.’
"The boat’s crew of four took to a life raft and were then picked up by the lifeboat who brought them ashore.
"This morning’s lifeboat crew were Relief Coxswain Ethan Harris, Mechanic Declan Sutherland, Jordan Morrice, Stephen Brown, Grant Morrison, Shane Richardson, Stuart Ross, Mark Ritchie, David Sutherland."
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