Man who went overboard fishing boat dies
Ryan Cordiner/Fishing NewsA man has died after two people went overboard a fishing boat during severe weather.
The Coastguard said it received a mayday call from the Banff-registered Fortitude BF11 fishing vessel shortly before 16:20 GMT on Sunday, after two members of its crew went overboard about 14 miles (22.5km) off the coast of Newbiggin in Northumberland.
A rescue operation involved a coastguard helicopter and fixed-wing aircraft, lifeboats from two RNLI stations, and two nearby boats.
Northumbria Police confirmed a man had died but the condition of the other crew member is unknown.
A spokesperson for the RNLI's Amble lifeboat station said the rescue operation faced "very challenging conditions" including gale force winds and a 16ft (5m) swell.
They said the two fishing vessels assisting the rescue managed to recover the two casualties.
The crew tried to get its casualty carers on board one of the fishing vessels, but "due to the severe weather conditions the coxswain deemed it to dangerous to get alongside without risking the safety of the crew and boat," the spokesperson said.
"After talking to the skipper they were informed the casualty was OK with minor injuries."
Ship boardings aborted
Meanwhile, a lifeboat from Tynemouth also attempted to get their medics aboard one of the vessels while the coastguard helicopter attempted to lower a winchman aboard.
Both teams had to abort their attempts due to the severe weather.
Instead both vessels were escorted back to Blyth harbour to await paramedics from the North East Ambulance Service.
Northumbria Police confirmed one of the men died but said his death was not being treated as suspicious.
The Marine Accident Investigation Branch said it had deployed a team of inspectors to assess what had happened.
