One man dead and two missing as search goes on for fishing boat off Lewis

The RNLI said Stornoway’s all-weather lifeboat was launched at 21:42 on Tuesday to search for the overdue fishing boat.

A spokesperson said: “The search, involving coastguard air and ground assets, was joined by Lochinver RNLI’s all-weather lifeboat a short time later and continued into Wednesday morning.”

Kenneth Macleod, convener of local authority Comhairle nan Eilean Siar, told BBC Radio Scotland’s Lunchtime Live programme: “It is a very dark day for the community of Ness and the community of Lewis in general.

“Our thoughts and condolences are with the families affected.

“We cannot comprehend what the families of the three fishermen are going through at the moment.”

Macleod said the search involved coastguard helicopters from Stornoway in Lewis and Shetland, as well as coastguard teams and local boats.

The search has come during warnings of bad weather in the area.

A weather system containing the remnants of Hurricane Isaias is forecast to send gales, heavy rain and a surge of warm air to parts of the UK.

A Met Office yellow warning has been issued for parts of the Highlands and Western Isles with the risk of gusts touching 70mph (113km/h) in places.