A CREWMAN was taken to hospital with a head injury after his boat collided with a wind turbine.
The catamaran fishing vessel began sinking having taken on water during the incident, which happened around 2.5miles west of Walney at 2.50am today.
The boat had been travelling from Ravenglass.
The Royal National Life Institution (RNLI) launched their Barrow lifeboat “Grace Dixon” less than 10 minutes after being contacted by the coastguard. By 3.30am, all three of the catamaran’s crew were safely off their boat.
A 58-year-old man was taken to Furness General Hospital and the lifeboat returned to base just before 4am.
The crew was asked by the coastguard to return to the scene half an hour later, to to tow the sinking boat to safety. It is now under tow but is very low in the water.
John Falvey, Barrow lifeboat operations manager, said: “The vessel was listing badly when the lifeboat arrived having taken on sea water. The crew were about to abandon the vessel but we transferred them safely.
“The lifeboat returned to deal with the damaged vessel which is currently under tow but in danger of sinking”.
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