HOVERTRAVEL have dismissed earlier reports that one of its hovercraft travelling from the Isle of Wight was responsible for a woman being taken to hospital.

Emergency services led by Solent Coastguard rescued a woman from the sea in Portsmouth Harbour following an incident at Southsea near the Hovertravel terminal.

In a statement released by Hovertravel this evening (Saturday), a spokesman said: "Contrary to various media reports, we can confirm the Solent Flyer was not involved with the incident involving a body in water — but the crew were alerted.

"As Solent Flyer landed at Southsea (from the Isle of Wight) 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."

A woman aged in her 40s was rushed to the Queen Alexandra Hospital, Portsmouth, in a life-threatening condition.

The incident happened close to the Hovertravel slipway at Clarence Pier, at about 5.30pm today (Saturday), according to Solent Coastguard.

The woman was rescued from the sea by the Gosport and Fareham Inshore Rescue Service (Gafirs) before she was brought ashore at Old Portsmouth and taken to hospital by ambulance in a life-threatening condition.

Solent Coastguard said they received multiple 999 calls about an incident near the hovercraft slipway in Southsea.

Other coastguard rescue agencies were involved, including the rescue helicopter from Lee-on-the-Solent and the MoD police.

“A woman was pulled from the water and passed into the care of the ambulance service," a coastguard spokesperson said.

A South Coast Ambulance Service spokesman said the woman was in her 40s and found unresponsive in the water by the coastguard.

“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.”

Hovertravel operates regular services between Southsea and Ryde.