Major rescue operation sparked after woman is dragged under hovercraft ferry
Major rescue operation sparked after woman is dragged under Portsmouth to Isle of Wight hovercraft ferry ‘while trying to take a picture in front of the boat’
- A woman was allegedly dragged under a hovercraft ferry in Portsmouth
- She was trying to take a picture of the front of the boat, reports revealed
- The UK Coastguard and Military Police were called to the scene today
A major rescue operation has been launched after a woman in her 40s was dragged under a hovercraft ferry as it docked in Portsmouth Harbour.
The woman was reportedly trying to take a picture while standing in front of the hovercraft as it headed into Clearance Pier.
She is now in a life-threatening condition in hospital, according to the South Central Ambulance Service (SCAS).
The UK Coastguard, Military Police, a coastguard rescue helicopter, Gosport and Fareham independent lifeboat were all called to the scene in Portsmouth today.
The woman was allegedly trying to take a picture while standing in front of the hovercraft as it headed into Clearance Pier, Portsmouth
The woman was dragged under the boat and her lifeless body was ejected out of the rear of the craft, reports suggested
The woman was dragged under the boat and her lifeless body was ejected out of the rear of the craft, reports suggested.
A spokesman for SCAS told MailOnline: ‘The incident in Old Portsmouth earlier was in relation to a woman in her 40s who was found unresponsive in the water by the Coastguard and recovered to Camber Dock Lifeboat Jetty where they were met by our team comprising two ambulance crews, a paramedic team leader and an emergency doctor.
‘After initial treatment the patient was then taken to the Queen Alexandra Hospital where she was handed over to colleagues in the emergency department in a life-threatening condition.’
Staff onboard desperately tried to carry out an emergency shutdown.
The woman, thought to have been unconscious, has been dragged from the water and CPR was administered.
The UK Coastguard, Military Police, a coastguard rescue helicopter, Gosport and Fareham independent lifeboat were all called to the scene in Portsmouth today
James Baggott, the cockswain of Gosport and Fareham Independent lifeboat service, told MailOnline: ‘We were tasked at 17.30 to a person in the water near Portmouth Harbour.
‘We launched within six minutes and we were on scene four minutes later. The causality was recovered from the water.
‘One of my crew members is a Hampshire paramedic. He worked on the casualty with CPR with another of our crew members.
‘He transferred that casualty into the hands of the ambulance service. The helicopter team, Portsmouth coastguard rescue, and hampsire police all attended as well.
‘The casualty condition is unknown.’
More to follow.
