Dramatic footage has revealed the moment crew on a sinking fishing vessel were rescued off the west coast of Scotland.

The four crew members were brought to safety after their 17-metre fishing vessel began taking on water south of the Garvellachs, also known as the Isles of the Sea, a small archipelago in the Inner Hebrides.

An Oban RNLI lifeboat was despatched to the scene as the incident unfolded on Wednesday afternoon.

They discovered two members of the fishing crew on a life-raft, while two others remained on board in a desperate bid to stop the flow of water coming in.

The Coastguard helicopter, Rescue 1999, and a local workboat were standing by, but strong winds and heavy seas made it impossible to transfer lifeboat crew across to the fishing boat with a salvage pump.

Instead, the people on the life-raft were brought aboard the lifeboat during the rescue mission.

The skipper of the fishing boat initially believed they had stemmed the flow of water coming into the boat and it was decided to tow the vessel to the town of Oban for repairs.

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However, the fishing boat started taking in water about two miles southwest of Easdale island and sank within a matter of minutes.

The two remaining people on the fishing vessel were then forced to plunge into the sea and swim to the lifeboat, before they were pulled to safety.

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High wings and a significant swell made the operation especially difficult, said Oban lifeboat coxswain, Ally Cerexhe.

He said: “What had been a slow tow suddenly changed and the fishing vessel listed heavily, then sank very quickly, forcing the two members to abandon the boat and swim across to us.”

He thanked his Coastguard colleagues and the crew of the Celtic Guardian, who assisted during the mission.

The lifeboat returned to Oban before the four people from the fishing vessel were handed to the care of the Scottish Ambulance Service and Coastguard team members.

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