A crew of fishermen have been rescued after their trawler began sinking in the North Sea.
Five people were airlifted to safety after the fishing vessel started taking on water, 75 miles north-east of Fraserburgh , Aberdeenshire.
Two helicopters and a lifeboat raced to the Fraserburgh-registered Ocean Quest after the alarm was raised around 5.30am this morning.
Coastguard tried to pump water from the boat but the attempts were unsuccessful and the vessel has now sunk.
As well as the lifeboat, three other vessels in the area also approached the scene to try and help.
A spokeswoman for HM Coastguard said: "At around 5.30am today HM Coastguard's mission control centre received an emergency position-indicating radio beacon alert from a vessel approximately 75 nautical miles North East of Fraserburgh.
"The fishing vessel with five people on board reported the vessel was taking on water and they required assistance.
"Fraserburgh all-weather lifeboat, HM Coastguard search and rescue helicopter based at Inverness and a Bond offshore helicopter were sent to the scene to assist".
They continued: "Three other vessels in the area also approached the scene to assist if required.
"Once on scene, the HM Coastguard helicopter lowered the winchman with a pump on to the vessel.
"Attempts were made to pump water from the vessel but this proved unsuccessful."
The crew were transferred via helicopter to Inverness while their vessel sank into deep water - thought to be around 100m down.
