Lone UK fisherman raises alarm with flare
20/10/2020
A lone UK fisherman on a disabled fishing boat fired a red flare to raise an alarm and summon help.
Kyle of Lochalsh RNLI was called out after the UK Coastguard received reports of a red flare at Loch Kishorn. The propeller of the fishing boat had become entangled in creel lines.
A Kyle RNLI spokesperson says, “The fishing boat was shooting creels from the stern, when one of the ropes became entangled in the propeller. Due to the bad VHF reception in the area, the fisherman fired off a red emergency flare to raise the alarm.”
The lifeboat Spirit of Fred. Olsen launched with four volunteer crew on board and arrived within 10 minutes. Meanwhile, the Spirit Level from Kishorn Port and the Stang Viking from the nearby fish farm, had gone to assist.
The lifeboat crew assessed the situation, and after ensuring the lone UK fisherman was not injured, they freed the boat from the tangled lines, which took around 10 minutes. The fishing boat later returned to its home port of Plockton.
This was the 19th callout of the year for Kyle RNLI
The picture of the fishing boat entangled in creel lines is courtesy of RNLI/Andrew MacDonald.
