Eight people winched to safety by HM Coastguard search and rescue helicopter

The HM Coastguard search and rescue helicopter from Stornoway winched all of the eight-person crew to safety from a cargo vessel which had ran aground in adverse weather conditions in the early hours of Monday (23rd March).

Despite strong winds and complete darkness, the helicopter was able to successfully evacuate all on-board. Portree RNLI lifeboat were also involved in the rescue.

The vessel, which made contact with the Coastguard and reported taking on water, now remains on hard ground at Sgeir Graidach rock in the Minch in north-west Scotland - and is being monitored by the Maritime & Coastguard Agency's Emergency Towing Vessel, Ievoli Black.

Watch the video of the helicopter airlifting one crew member from the vessel below:

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