Crew quizzed on high-seas infernoRescued crew to be quizzed on fire

Five fishermen who were plucked to safety from their burning boat in the Atlantic Ocean are to be questioned today by marine accident investigators.

The trawlermen were back home in the Moray port of Macduff yesterday but were too shaken to speak about their narrow escape on board the Banff-registered Onward.

The emergency was sparked when a signal from a distress beacon was picked up at about 1:30pm on Wednesday, indicating a vessel was in trouble 50 miles north-west of Orkney and 100 miles west of Fair Isle in Shetland.

By the time the Shetland Coastguard helicopter arrived on the scene, the 65ft whitefish boat was well ablaze.

Her crew, however, had escaped in two liferafts from the fire-stricken vessel, skippered by John Mitchell from Macduff.

They were winched on to the helicopter and flown to Balfour Hospital in Kirkwall, Orkney, suffering from hypothermia. The crew arrived just over two hours after the alarm was raised.

Yesterday, Steven Taylor, spokesman for the Onward’s agent, Denholm Shipping Services, based in Macduff, said: “The crew are back home and are fine, although obviously very shaken up by what happened.

“They were taken to hospital and checked over for exposure but were able to return home this morning.

“The crew are not talking at the moment. They are needing to catch their breath.”

He went on: “Also, the guys from the Marine Accident Investigations Branch [MIAB] are up tomorrow to run through what happened.

“The main thing is that they are all back home safely. The Coastguard boys did their job.”

Investigators from the MIAB, a government agency, will seek to pinpoint the exact cause of the fire, which is believed to have started in the engine room.

It is understood the vessel was on her fishing ground and had been due to return to Scrabster, in Caithness, today.

On Wednesday afternoon, Shetland Coastguard picked up the distress signal and broadcast a mayday call for assistance from other vessels in the area, as the rescue helicopter made its way to the scene.

An anti-pollution surveillance aircraft, Watchdog Alpha, was also alerted, along with an RAF search and rescue helicopter from Lossiemouth.

The fixed-wing aircraft spotted the vessel on fire and two liferafts in the water.

It remained on the scene until the arrival of the Coastguard helicopter. Stromness Lifeboat was launched but later recalled.

Mike Smith, from Shetland Coastguard, said: “This incident shows the importance of having a registered distress beacon and how important they are when you have an emergency.

“We are pleased that all five crew have been rescued.”

After the crew had been plucked to safety, the Coastguard’s only remaining emergency towing vessel, the Anglican Sovereign, which is anchored off Orkney, was sent to the stricken vessel to assess whether the fire could be extinguished and the vessel salvaged.

However, when they got there, it had sunk.