The men were suffering from hypothermia

The bodies of the men who died were being taken to Killybegs in the Irish Republic on board two Norwegian surface vessels, from where they were due to be flown home.

The survivors told on Wednesday how their vessel turned over in heavy seas with 12 Spanish, three Portuguese and one crew member on board.

Spaniard Juan Carmano stunned rescuers after surviving in rough seas until Tuesday lunchtime.

He was said to be distraught at the death of his brother, who he held in his arms until only minutes before a Royal Air Force Nimrod flew overhead.

Survival pack

He left hospital in Benbecula on Wednesday after treatment for hypothermia.

Mr Carmano's rescue was described as "miraculous" by searchers.

The RAF Nimrod dropped a survival pack containing a life raft from its bomb bay after spotting him in the freezing water.

He unravelled the package and climbed into the dinghy before being picked up by a helicopter and flown to safety.

Nine fishermen were winched from a life raft

RAF spokesman Michael Mulford said: "He really must have the survival instinct - this is quite exceptional in the history of search and rescue operations."

Clyde Coastguard is preparing an incident report on the sinking, which will be sent on to the Marine Accident Investigation Branch.

Coastguards received a distress signal from the 31ft vessel at about 2310GMT on Monday.

All 16 crew members abandoned the boat, but only nine managed to make it to a life raft.

They were airlifted individually to safety in 15ft seas.