Stornoway’s coastguard rescue helicopter R948 was sent out early on Tuesday (10 January) to the aid of a sick crewman aboard a fishing vessel.

The Irish-registered vessel was working 61 nautical miles north north-west of Barra Head, the last island south of Mingulay, when the crewman was reported sick.

The skipper called on HM Coastguard for assistance at 8am on Tuesday, and Stornoway’s coastguard operations officers tasked the rescue helicopter to the scene.

The crewman was uplifted from the deck of his vessel and brought to Western Isles Hospital, where Stornoway coastguard rescue team maintained the safe operation of the landing site.

The casualty was then passed into the care of Scottish Ambulance Service and the incident was closed, with all teams standing down by 12.21pm.

Picture shows the helicopter landing site at an incident late in 2022 (Stornoway coastguard rescue team).