Man taken to hospital with burns after gas explosion on his boat in Portsmouth Harbour - RNLI And Coastguard called

The Coastguard and the RNLI were called to rescue a man injured after gas exploded on his 26ft boat near Hardway Sailing Club.

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Bembridge RNLI's all-weather lifeboat (RNLB Alfred Albert Williams) was launched just before 5pm on Tuesday at the request of the Solent Coastguard.

They got to Portsmouth at about 5.20pm and after talking to the Coastguard Helicopter Rescue 175 which had also been sent out, found the boat which had launched a red flare. A Y boat – a small inflatable – was sent out.

A statement from Bembridge RNLI said: ‘Having assessed the casualty’s injuries, it was initially recommended 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.’

Fire crews from Fareham and Gosport attended and helped the coastguard with shore side support, including lights.