Hopes fading for missing angler, 23 af ter boat capsized by wind on loch
FEARS were growing last night for a 23-year-old angler who went missing after the boat he was on capsized in high winds.
A major search was launched on Saturday afternoon after the 16ft craft overturned on Loch Awe, Argyll.
Two men, aged 23 and 27, managed to swim to safety on an island.
They were taken to Lorn and Islands Hospital in Oban and later discharged.
However, a third man, who is believed not to have been wearing a life jacket, remained missing last night. It is understood the men, who were on a weekend camping trip, are not from the area.
Janet Lightbrown, owner of Loch Awe Boats, who hired the craft to the men, said: ‘The men were fishing. They’d been camping
‘The three of them tried to swim to an island’
somewhere near Inishail Island. They seemed like nice boys.
‘This is the first time we’ve experienced a tragedy like this first hand. The loch does have a reputation for being quite deadly but we’ve never personally had experience with it until now.
‘It all happened out of the blue. I got a call last night telling me what happened and I rushed down to assist the authorities.’
Cliff Davies, her business partner, added: ‘The weather was fine when they set off. But it can get very windy at times. We made sure they all had their life jackets – as we do with all our customers. It’s a sad incident and we hope the man is found alive.’
A four-hour land, air and sea search, involving coastguards, police, fire service and local boats was launched when the two fishermen who swam to safety raised the alarm at 4.40pm on Saturday. It continued until darkness fell.
The search operation resumed yesterday morning with local boats and the Oban Mountain Rescue team assisting specialist police units.
The operation was scheduled to continue today.
Iain MacKinnon, station officer of Oban Coastguard, was part of the search party on Saturday, along with 16 other coastguard volunteers from Oban, Appin and Inveraray. He said: ‘The boat, with three people on it, was coming from Kilchurn to Ardbrecknish, when it was caught in the weather.
‘There was a mini-squall and the boat capsized. The three of them tried to swim to an island but only two made it.’
Mr MacKinnon said he thought the men were on a sightseeing trip and added: ‘They were on a 16ft fibreglass open boat, which is not unusual on the loch.
‘They capsized between the two small islands of Fraoch Eilean and Eilean Beath and the east shore of the loch, where the road passes by. The two men swam to Eilean Beath, where they raised the alarm by reporting it to the police.’
Mr MacKinnon has been in the coastguard for more than 30 years. Asked what the chances of finding the missing man alive might be, he said: ‘A very slim chance in that location, based on my experience, because the loch is so cold.’
Forecasters last night described the weather during the incident as ‘changeable’, with conditions becoming blustery between sunny spells.
In March 2009, four Glasgow anglers, William Carty, 47, his brother Stephen Carty, 42, Thomas Douglas, 36, and Craig Currie, 30, lost their lives in Loch Awe.
The four men, who got into difficulties when they were crossing the loch in thick fog, were not wearing life jackets.
One year after the tragedy Mr MacKinnon and his friend, Murray Humphries, started the LochWatch Loch Awe volunteer group. It put a safety patrol boat on the loch and launched a campaign to promote the need to wear life jackets.
Mr MacKinnon said: ‘The last incident was the four men, that was ten years ago in March this year. We have had a safe ten years. Having had ten years of safety on the loch I was stunned when this happened on Saturday.’
A statement issued by HM Coastguard said: ‘Two people were reported to have got themselves to safety, but a third was unaccounted for.
‘Oban and Inveraray Coastguard rescue teams, Appin inshore rescue team and HM Coastguard search and rescue helicopter based at Inverness have been sent to the scene to assist in carrying out a search for the missing person, along with Police Scotland and Scottish Fire and Rescue Service.
‘The two other people are in the care of the police and ambulance service. The search is ongoing and there’s no further information at this stage.’
A spokesman for Police Scotland confirmed that a 23-year-old man was still missing and said ‘inquiries are continuing’.