A crew member had to be rescued from a burning boat during an emergency response in Argyll & Bute. The incident took place at Gare Loch near Rhu at around 2pm on Saturday, October 8 when the coastguard was scrambled to the scene of a yacht on fire.
The alarm was raised after the only crew mate on board managed to escape the flaming wreck and navigate his way to safety on a rubber dinghy, where he alerted authorities to the danger he was in.
A multi-agency response was launched, with teams from Greenock and Helensburgh, who were in the middle of water rescue training in Inverkip at the time, called to the site to assist. Police Scotland, Scottish Ambulance SORT, Scottish Fire and Rescue, MOD Police and Helensburgh RNLI also swooped on the spot, with officers and personnel doing all they could to ensure a more serious event was averted.
Photos taken at the scene, which were shared by Greenock Coastguard Rescue Team on social media, show plumes of thick, black smoke wafting from fiery vessel, which floats scarily close to the shore. Bright, orange flames engulf the boat, while a lifeboat full of coastguard workers decked out in safety gear and other life-saving equipment bobs nearby.
Another image shows several firefighters with a long hose spraying water on the smouldering ruin from a distance in a bid to temper the flames and fully extinguish the fire, which they were successful in doing. The crew member was not taken to hospital, but it is unclear whether he sustained any injuries. The cause of the fire is not yet known.
A HM Coastguard spokesperson said: "We deployed a RNLI lifeboat from Helensburgh, as well as rescue teams from Helensburgh and Greenock, after reports of a yacht catching fire just after 2pm on Saturday (October 8) in Gare Loch.
"There was only one person on the yacht, who made it to shore safely by themselves in a dinghy. Police, fire and rescue, the ambulance service and a Clyde Marine Unit patrol vessel also responded.
"One man was passed into the care of the ambulance service." A fire service spokesperson added: "We were alerted at 2.05pm on Saturday, 8 October to reports of a boat well alight on the A814 near Rhu.
"Operations Control mobilised one appliance to the scene, where firefighters worked with emergency service partners to make the area safe. One casualty was in the care of the Scottish Ambulance Service."
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