Two rescued from life raft near Oban after abandoning boat

The RNLI Oban all-weather lifeboat was sent to Lismore Island to rescue the two people from their life raft

Two people have been rescued off the west coast of Scotland after abandoning their sinking fishing boat and taking to a life raft.

The pair issued a Mayday call to report their fishing vessel was taking on significant amounts of water.

The Coastguard said they were in the vicinity of Lismore island near Oban at about 03:00 on Thursday.

They abandoned the boat and climbed on to a life raft where they stayed until they were rescued an hour later.

The RNLI Oban all-weather lifeboat went to the scene and rescued the pair before taking them back to Oban in Argyll and Bute, arriving at around 05:00.

The lifeboat reached the scene before a Coastguard helicopter which was also scrambled to the incident.

A Coastguard spokesman said: "We had calm weather which was a blessing.

"Thankfully it was quite close to Lismore island and the sea was reasonably benign for them."

The crew were said to be fine though a bit shaken after the experience.

The boat, a commercial fishing vessel, is now partially submerged.