An angler has died off the west coast of Scotland in the middle of a 48-hour strike by Coastguard staff.

The man, in his 70s, was angling in the Sound of Islay with three others around 4pm on Saturday when he was swept away by a strong current.

The angler, who was wearing waders but not a life jacket, was rescued by helicopter after the alarm was raised and airlifted to hospital in Oban, where he later died.

The rescue operation would normally have been co-ordinated by the Clyde Coastguard team based at Greenock but the station was unmanned because of the strike action which had been under way at the country's five control centres since Friday evening. Consequently, colleagues from Belfast handled the emergency.

Union leaders claimed yesterday that although the outcome may not have been any different, the staff who co-ordinated the rescue from Northern Ireland may not have known the terrain as well as striking coastguard employees in Scotland.

The Public and Commercial Services (PCS) also claimed that the UK Government had been warned about the potential for fatalities ahead of the latest industrial action over a below-inflation pay rise.

A spokesman for the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) said Belfast Coastguard had tasked an RNLI lifeboat, local coastguard rescue teams and a search and rescue helicopter to respond and that all resources had been dispatched within eight minutes. He added that the crucial element in the death was the lack of a life jacket rather than from where the rescue was being co-ordinated.

But Stuart Atkinson, of the PCS, said: "It may have been the case that the team in Belfast did not know the area around the Sound of Islay as well as those at Greenock. That is not to say the outcome may have been any different but at Greenock we sit a test on local knowledge. That is not the case in Belfast. We offered assistance to Belfast but no phone call came back to us.

"We warned the government before going into this action that lives were being put at risk but it was content to let the strike go ahead."

The Maritime and Coastguard Agency spokesman said: "Unfortunately, despite the fast and thorough emergency response, the gentleman later died in hospital.

"We have always said that local knowledge resides with the local lifeboat crews who all know their patch exceptionally well and the fact the operation was co-ordinated from Belfast would have had no impact whatsoever. If people are going angling then for heaven's sake wear a life jacket."

It is understood the man slipped while angling and may have gone into shock after entering the water which was just 10 degrees Centigrade while his waders filled. His body was recovered from the water almost a mile away.

Striking staff returned to work last night after their latest stoppage.

Over the weekend Forth Coastguard Station was closed, with calls being diverted to Aberdeen, while on Saturday all calls to Clyde Coastguard were being handled by the control centre in Belfast.

Demonstrations also took place on the picket lines in Greenock and Aberdeen.

Jim Mather, the local MSP and tourism minister, said: "My heart goes out to the family and friends of the angler. Given the swift response and the professionalism of the rescue services, it is clear that the Coastguard assessment of rescue is fair and reasonable."

Councillor Robin Currie, who lives on Islay, added: "Obviously, we'd prefer there was no industrial action but I'm confident all that could have been done was. The lifeboat is based on the Sound of Islay and the currents there are very fast."

The MCA said that while it had no year-on-year figures to compare weekend call-out rates with as a result of industrial action last year it had been a "fairly routine" two days.