News / Fishing boat fire
TWO Spanish fishermen were airlifted to hospital in Lerwick on Wednesday morning after inhaling smoke when a fire broke out on their trawler 90 miles east of Shetland.
Shetland coastguard were alerted to the problem by the rescue coordination centre in Madrid, after the skipper of the 40 metre fishing boat Espemar Dos called Spain to raise the alarm.
Shortly after 5am the crew had reported the fire on board, but they had put it out within 15 minutes.
Sumburgh-based helicopter Rescue 102 was air borne just before 6am and the two casualties were winched aboard the aircraft before being flown to the landing site at Clickimin from where they were taken to Gilbert Bain Hospital.
A coastguard spokesman said that the remaining 16 fishermen on board the vessel had decided it was safe to carry on fishing and had returned to work.
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