Fisherman rescued from water after boat catches fire
A visitor on a day trip to Handa Island has praised the professionalism of ferrymen who went to the rescue of a fisherman after his boat dramatically caught fire in the water off Tarbet, north west Sutherland, on Thursday morning.
The fisherman, who has not been identified, had to jump into the sea in fear for his life when his small craft suddenly went up in flames.
A rescue operation involving two nearby vessels used as passenger ferries and for wild life trips, immediately sprang into place.
The incident happened close to the shore at around 11am on Thursday.
Ashley and Tracey Smith were amongst a party of 12 on board a ferry about to set off for Handa Island when they became aware of the burning boat.
The Smiths, both charity workers, live in Hampshire but have a holiday cottage in Rosehall. They had decided to take a day trip to Handa Island, run by the Scottish Wildlife Trust. and home to one of the largest seabird colonies in north west Europe.
Mrs Smith said: "We had just gone on board the ferry to go to Handa and were putting on life jackets. The ferry was reversing out of the bay when we saw the flames on the water.
"The boat would have been around 30 to 40 feet away from us, just in Tarbet Harbour."
Mrs Smith said that a man who had been on shore jumped into a second ferry boat, identical to the one she was on, and sped across to the stricken fisherman.
"This chap attempted to put the fire out with an extinguisher and in the meantime the fisherman tried to climb on board his vessel," continued Mrs Smith.
"But he looked a bit shocked and was having a difficult job pulling himself out of the water. He just held on to the side of the boat."
Mrs Smith said the skipper of the ferry she was on steered across to join the other ferry.
"Two of the passengers jumped from our ferry onto the empty ferry to managed to get the fisherman on board. They asked him if he was okay and he replied that he was fine."
She added: "It was all quite dramatic but we have to say just how professional the skippers of the two ferry boats were - They dealt with the incident so quickly. They were just really professional."
