Woman, 59, dies after being pulled from the water near hovercraft slipway in Portsmouth harbour
- A woman was found unresponsive in the water in Portsmouth Harbour yesterday
- Paramedics and the UK Coastguard and Military Police were called to the scene
- Woman, 59, was rushed to hospital in a life-threatening condition and later died
- Hampshire Police have said the woman’s death is not being treated as suspicious
A woman has died after being pulled from the water near a hovercraft slipway at Portsmouth harbour.
The 59-year-old victim was pulled from the water while unconscious in Clarence Pier, Portsmouth, yesterday afternoon.
She was rushed to hospital in a critical condition, but later died.
A spokesman for Hampshire Police said: ‘We were called shortly after 5.45pm on Saturday April 24 to a report that a woman was unconscious in the water on Clarence Esplanade, Southsea.
‘Officers attended and a 59-year-old woman was taken to Queen Alexandra Hospital. Despite best efforts, she was sadly pronounced dead on Saturday evening.
A woman in her 40s is now in a life-threatening condition in hospital, according to the South Central Ambulance Service (SCAS)
‘Next of Kin have been informed and are being supported by officers. Officers do not believe the Hovercraft to have been involved in any way at this time.
‘The death is not being treated as suspicious and a file shall be prepared for the coroner.’
The incident happened near to the Hovertravel slipway at Clarence Pier, Southsea, Hampshire, at about 5.30pm on Saturday, the Coastguard said.
The UK Coastguard, Military Police, a coastguard rescue helicopter and Gosport and Fareham independent lifeboat were all called to the scene in Portsmouth.
A spokesman for SCAS told MailOnline: ‘The incident in Old Portsmouth earlier was in relation to a woman 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.’
The woman, thought to have been unconscious, was 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 coxswain of Gosport and Fareham Independent lifeboat service, told MailOnline: ‘We were tasked at 17.30 to a person in the water near Portsmouth 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 Hampshire police all attended as well.’
A spokesman from the Maritime and Coastguards Agency said: ‘At around 5.30pm on Saturday 24 April, HM Coastguard received multiple 999 calls about an incident near the hovercraft slipway in Southsea, Portsmouth.
‘Portsmouth coastguard rescue team, Gosport independent lifeboat and the search and rescue helicopter from Lee-on-Solent were sent, in addition to MOD Police vessels from Portsmouth Harbour and the South Central Ambulance Service.
‘A woman was pulled from the water and passed into the care of the ambulance service.’
Crew from HoverTravel, which operates a ferry between the Isle of Wight and Portsmouth, originally called the police after seeing a body in the water.
A spokesman said: ‘The Solent Flyer hovercraft was not involved with the incident involving a body in water but the crew were alerted.
‘As the craft landed at Southsea this afternoon, the ground team alerted the pilot about a body in the water, as per Hovertravel’s normal safety procedure.
‘The pilot landed safely and the service is operating as normal. The person has subsequently been recovered by the emergency services and the police are dealing with the matter.’