Rescue teams recovered a person from the water after diverting from an incident in which a fishing boat eventually sunk in Stornoway Harbour last night.
Despite taking place within close proximity of each other, the two incidents are not believed to be linked.
Stornoway Coastguard Operations Centre received a call from staff at Stornoway Harbour requesting assistance when the vessel began “taking on water rapidly” around 10.40pm.
The local coastguard rescue team were paged alongside Stornoway lifeboat.
Local firefighters from the town were also drafted in and used portable pumps, lifejackets, portable lighting and a thermal imaging camera.
Teams began trying to pump water from the vessel, however it was to no avail and the vessel sank in the harbour.
Nobody was aboard the vessel at the time, however, the RNLI crew were diverted around 11.51pm after reports were received of two people in the water near to the harbour.
One person was rescued from the water and taken ashore before being handed into the care of waiting paramedics.
The other person had managed to exit the water on their own accord prior to the lifeboats arrival.
The person rescued from the water was said to be “alive and kicking” by a coastguard spokesman, with no further details available on their condition.
The incident comes after a warning was issued by the coastguard as part of their Winter Coastal Safety Campaign to remind the public that the coast and sea can be incredibly dangerous.
Advice under the campaign includes wearing appropriate footwear if visiting coastlines and to carry a fully charged mobile phone in case of an emergency.
People are also urged to get familiar with the areas they are visiting by reading local safety information, warnings and advice, and to also check tide timings online before departing to ensure they do not get caught out.
Dogs should also be kept on leads to minimise the risk of an accident.
