Three people are being treated for mild hypothermia after being airlifted from a sinking fishing boat.
The Irish vessel, the Iuda Naofa, made a distress call when it started taking on water about 48 miles north of the Isle of Lewis at 11am today.
A coastguard helicopter was sent to the scene and dropped a salvage pump to clear water from the boat but it was soon swamped and started to sink.
The helicopter airlifted two of the Iuda Naofa crew to another nearby vessel, the Star of Hope.
The other three crew members were airlifted to the Western Isles hospital, where they are being treated for mild hypothermia.
Coastguard duty watch manager Paul Tunstall said: "The weather conditions on scene were very rough, seas with southerly force six winds.
"Evacuating the five crew swiftly and safely before the vessel went down was a great achievement."
Earlier this year, eight crew were lost when a Cypriot-registered ship sunk off the north of Scotland.
The Cemfjord, a cement carrier, capsized in stormy conditions on January 2 while attempting to make its way through the Pentland Firth.
No trace of the seven Polish nationals and one Filipino on board the vessel has been found despite searches.
A church service was held in their memory in Wick, Caithness, at the weekend with candles lit for each of the crew members and their families.
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