Man taken to hospital after gas explosion near Portsmouth sailing club
A man has been injured in a gas explosion aboard his 26ft boat, near Hardway Sailing Club in Portsmouth Harbour.
The Coastguard and the RNLI responded to the incident shortly before 5pm on Tuesday (6 December 2022), with Bembridge RNLI launching its all-weather lifeboat to assist in the medical evacuation of the injured man.
After arriving in Portsmouth at around 5.20pm, the rescue teams spoke with Helicopter Rescue 175, which had also been called to the scene to locate the vessel, which had sent out a red flare.
Unfortunately, it was not the one involved in the gas explosion and it took until 5.40pm before the right boat was finally identified closer inshore.
In a statement, Bembridge RNLI says: “Having assessed the casualties’ injuries, it was initially recommended by the Y-boat crew that he be winched up to Rescue 175 for immediate transfer to hospital. However, because of the difficulty in doing this, it was decided to recover the casualty to the waiting ambulance using Portsmouth Coastguard Rescue Team’s ‘mud rescue team’ assisted by the Y-boat crew. Once this had been achieved, the Y-boat was recovered to the waiting Alfred Albert Williams, which then returned to Bembridge and was recovered by 7.15pm.”
In June, Gosport and Fareham Inshore Rescue Service (GAFIRS) were called to a large boat fire in the Solent, which took place just outside Portsmouth Harbour. Bembridge RNLI Lifeboat returned casualties to the Chichester Harbour side of Hayling Island, from where the vessel had set out.
