NINE people have been airlifted to safety after a fire broke out on a Scottish-registered fishing boat 50 miles off the coast of County Donegal.
The fire started in the accommodation quarters and quickly filled the 33-metre trawler with smoke.
A mayday was sent out at 12.30pm and answered by Clyde Coastguard because the boat was in UK waters.
There were 16 Spanish fishermen on board the
Shark, which is registered in Troon, in Ayrshire, but owned by a Spanish fishing company.
Initially only nine were winched onto an Irish Coastguard helicopter from Sligo which had been scrambled to the scene, along with the Air Corps Maritime Reconnaissance Aircraft, Casa, which was on patrol nearby at the time and was brought in to assist.
The rest stayed on board to try to fight the fire. They were joined by the crew of a lifeboat, which had been launched from Arranmore in County Donegal.
However, after an Irish Naval ship, LE Eithne, and the Aran Mor Island lifeboat pulled up alongside it at 5pm, a further five were rescued and seven naval officers went onboard to fight the blaze. An interpreter was also used, as the captain did not speak English.
The vessel, which had been on its way to the Irish port of Killypegs, had filled with smoke, and the battle became harder an hour later when it started to list.
However, the engine, which had cut out following a short-circuit in the accommodation quarters, started working again at about 6pm.
The fire was eventually extinguished at 7.50pm, more than seven hours after the mayday call.
Engineers were trying to fix the steering, which had been damaged during the blaze, and a tug boat was also being prepared in case it was beyond repair and the vessel needed to be towed to Killypegs.
Dan Sellers, Clyde Coastguard watch assistant, said last night: "The ship is owned by a Spanish fishing company and we are trying to trace them at present.
"An Irish naval vessel has taken a further five fishermen off the boat. We want to have as few people as possible on board in case they need to be evacuated in a hurry.
"All non-essential people are being removed.
"We don't know what is causing her to list at present. We are assessing the situation to see if we should try and move her."
No one had been seriously injured and both aircraft were stood down as the crew of the naval boat, which was fitted with firefighting equipment, and the lifeboat attempted to put the fire out on the trawler.
The coastguard said weather conditions were relatively good for a rescue operation, with force three winds and a swell of between two and three metres.
