Man dies after boat overturns near Aberdeenshire town

Emergency services, including lifeboat crews and a coastguard helicopter, rushed out to the scene of the incident near Macduff yesterday.

Author: Liam RossPublished 22nd Sep 2023

A man has died after a fishing boat capsized off the Aberdeenshire coast.

Emergency services, including lifeboat crews and a coastguard helicopter, rushed out to the scene of the incident near Macduff yesterday.

A 69-year-old man was found in the water and pronounced dead a short time later.

Police Scotland say his death is not believed to be suspicious.

A spokesperson said: “Around 12pm on Thursday, 21 September, 2023, a 69-year-old man was found in the water after a fishing boat overturned in the North Sea near Macduff.

"He was pronounced dead a short time later.

"There are not believed to be any suspicious circumstances surrounding the death and a report will be submitted to the Procurator Fiscal."

The coastguard confirmed RNLI crews from Macduff and Fraserburgh attended the incident, along with the coastguard helicopter from Inverness.

A spokesperson for the Coastguard said: "HM Coastguard responded to a report of a capsized boat on the shore near Macduff on 21 September.

"The alarm was raised at about 11.15am. The RNLI's all-weather lifeboat from Fraserburgh and inshore lifeboat from Macduff were sent, as well as the HM Coastguard search and rescue helicopter from Inverness.

"Fraserburgh and MacDuff Coastguard Rescue Teams also attended, and Police Scotland was alerted."