Afishionado Posted November 14, 2005 Report Share Posted November 14, 2005 Woman dies after car ferry plunge The Sandbanks chain ferry connects Poole to the Isle of Purbeck A 30-year-old woman has died after the car she was in plunged into the sea from a ferry slipway in Dorset. The woman, from Bournemouth, was rescued from the water by the Sandbanks chain ferry in Poole on Sunday night. Police and coastguards were both called to the scene and it took and hour to find her and pull her from the sea. She was rushed to Poole General Hospital where her condition was said to be "critical". Police said she was pronounced dead on Monday morning. Car sank The victim is expected to be identified later. The Sandbanks Ferry crew had reported seeing a black car going into the water on the Poole side, by the North Haven slipway. They warned the car was sinking after staying afloat for a few seconds, said Portland Coastguard. At the time, the ferry, which connects Poole to the Isle of Purbeck, was on the other side of the waterway and unable to assist. The coastguard helicopter from Lee-on-Solent, with infra red cameras on board, and the Portland Coastguard helicopter were scrambled, along with Sandbanks Coastguard Rescue Team and the Poole RNLI inshore and all-weather lifeboats. The car had sunk but the woman was spotted in the water at about 2100 BST. 'Difficult circumstances' She was winched to safety and resuscitated before being transferred to an ambulance. It was not known if the woman was alone in the vehicle but initial searches of the area found no-one else in the water. Bill Gibbs, Portland Coastguard watch manager, said it was a search "in very difficult circumstances". Dorset Police have launched an investigation into the circumstances of the incident. A spokesman said: "Cars are very difficult to locate after sinking in the harbour entrance because of the tidal conditions. "It is possible that one object located on the seabed just outside the harbour entrance may be a car. He added that the death is not being treated as suspicious and any recovery will be a matter for the car insurers and the harbour commissioners Mad Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sam Posted November 14, 2005 Report Share Posted November 14, 2005 that object they think is the car could be a large rock because there is a large rock just outside the harbour. sam Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.