The boat got into trouble north of Scotland

However, an RAF Sea King managed to winch the remaining 18 crew members to safety on Saturday morning while running low of fuel in atrocious conditions.

A distress signal from the trawler was received on Friday evening and RAF Nimrods maintained visual contact with the vessel during the night.

RAF Kinloss spokesman Michael Mulford said the rescue operation had been a calculated risk.

"The helicopter was operating at its absolute limits and had only a very, very short time left before it had to leave the scene," he said.

"It was an epic rescue and the helicopter crew had to work at a high rate of knots to get the men off the boat.

Police interview

"They only had about 15 to 20 minutes to get all the men off the boat so it was certainly a white-knuckle ride."

The helicopter brought the fishermen to Stornoway on the Isle of Lewis, arriving at its airport with just the right amount of fuel.

The Fishermen's Mission in Stornoway has been looking after the welfare of the Spanish and Portuguese survivors.

After they landed the men were interviewed by police through an interpreter and were then taken to a Stornoway hotel for a meal and fresh clothes.

Eighteen men were airlifted to safety

Two of the survivors were taken to the Western Isles Hospital for treatment, one for chest bruising and the other for a facial injury.

It is expected that the boat's Spanish owners will charter a plane to fly the survivors back home on Monday.

Meanwhile, a Norwegian fishing boat with 11 crew members on board was under tow off Shetland on Sunday after losing power.

The Aith lifeboat turned out after coastguards at Shetland received an emergency call from the Viknafisk at about 0430 GMT.

It was able to attach a tow to the vessel, but this became disconnected.

Flooding fears

The boat's sister ship was able to attach a second tow and was making its way to Scalloway.

Forecasters predicted that the winds which have caused disruption across the UK would abate by Sunday night.

The only flood warning which remained in place in Scotland concerned the Teviot Water.

However, a weather warning was issued to Scottish motorists by the Met Office on Sunday afternoon.

It said there was a possibility of winds reaching 50 to 60mph in central and southern Scotland during the afternoon and evening.

There was also a fear of sleet or snow showers on some higher routes.