VILLAGERS have told of their concern over the launch of a criminal investigation four months after the sinking of a fishing boat in Argyll and Bute in which two men died.

Duncan MacDougall, 46, and Przemek Krawczyk, 38, both died when the Nancy Glen went down in Loch Fyne, near Tarbert, on January 18 this year.

The alarm was raised by a third fisherman who was pulled from the water by the crew of a passing boat.

The bodies of the fishermen were only recovered from the doomed trawler a month ago after an extraordinary fund-raising campaign.

The Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) previously conducted a seabed survey of the ship which was said to be lying at a depth of more than 459ft (140 metres).

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The MAIB said it could not raise the boat but the Clyde Fishermen’s Association took charge of a crowdfunding which raised nearly £300,000 to finance a salvage operation.

The Scottish Government then stepped in to fund the operation and retrieve the bodies, reported to cost about £1m The funerals of Mr MacDougall, the boat skipper and fisherman Przemek Krawczyk followed in a matter of days.

Now it has been confirmed that police have been told to investigate in a move that has sent shockwaves through the community.

A Crown Office spokesman said: "The Procurator Fiscal has instructed Police Scotland to investigate the circumstances around the deaths of Duncan MacDougall and Przemek Krawczyk in Loch Fyne on January 18 2018.

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"The families will continue to be kept updated in relation to any significant developments.

"As this is a live investigation it would not be appropriate to comment further."

Tarbert and Skipness community councillor Ian Macintyre said: "It was a tragic incident and just don't understand why there should be a criminal investigation. It just doesn't add up.

"Nobody seems to be able to say why it capsized.

"I can only assume that it snagged something at the bottom, because they were trawling at the time it capsized, and there are obstructions on the sea bed. "I had hoped that having had the two bodies out of the sunken vessel and having had the funerals, that that was closure both for the families and for the whole village.

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"But not now there's to be a criminal investigation. I can understand an investigation to find out the cause of the tragedy, but criminal? "Duncan MacDougall is from a long-standing fishing family. I am sure in my own mind he would not have been taking undue risks."

Another local commented: "I cannot fathom how after four months it has only now been decided that this should be a criminal investigation. I think many people thought after the funeral that the matter was pretty much put to bed."

Salvage expert Captain John Noble believes the alarm bells only started ringing during the "very complex" operation to lift the boat, "It may be that when they lifted the craft out the water they could see things that couldn't have been seen before.

"But it doesn't mean that because there is a criminal investigation that they will come to obvious findings, It is very difficult for them to get beyond all reasonable doubt."

After the bodies were recovered, the families of both men release tributes.

Gosia Krawczyk said: "It has been the longest, saddest and most traumatic 12 weeks of our lives. I have lost my husband, my love, my best friend and my children have lost their amazing father."

A statement on behalf of the MacDougall family read: "They wish to thank everyone who helped bring Duncan and his fellow fisherman Przemek back home to rest in Tarbert."