A multi-agency search being carried out in the Western Isles has been stood down.
Rescue teams were scrambled to the Lewis coastline shortly before 1.30am today following an alert from an Emergency Position-Indicating Radio Beacon (EPIRB).
Land, sea and air searches were carried out over the course of the day in an effort to trace the vessel, believed to be in distress.
HM Coastguard has confirmed the search operation has now been terminated as teams were unable to find anything of concern.
Emergency beacon sparks land, sea and air search
Rescue teams were dispatched to the area, located around 56 miles north west of Lewis, overnight as a major search got under way.
The Stornoway Coastguard helicopter combed the area from above.
Meanwhile, Stornoway lifeboat and an assisting vessel, the first responders of the incident, searched the surrounding coastline.
A fixed wing coastguard plane from Doncaster joined the search effort this afternoon as rescue teams combed the area.
Rescue teams are now returning to base following the operation, which lasted more than 14 hours.
What is an EPIRB?
An Emergency Position-Indicating Radio Beacon (EPIRB) is a type of emergency locator beacon for commercial and recreational boats.
It can be a portable, battery-powered radio transmitter used in emergencies to locate boaters in distress and in need of immediate rescue.
In the event of an emergency, such as a ship sinking or medical emergency onboard, the transmitter is activated and begins transmitting a continuous 406 MHz distress radio signal, which is used by search-and-rescue teams to locate the emergency and render aid.
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