Witness describes fatal Southampton boat crash as "horrific"

The scene
Image caption Hampshire Constabulary, the Maritime and Coastguard Agency and Marine Accident Investigation Branch are investigating

A witness has described the "horrific" aftermath of a boat crash off Southampton in which a 15-year-old girl died.

The teenager was among 12 people on board a rigid inflatable boat (RIB) when it hit a buoy near Netley, in The Solent, on Saturday.

She died in hospital, police said. Eleven others were taken to hospital, some with serious injuries.

Resident Jonathan Parker-Bray said he saw the injured being stretchered away.

"We saw the lifeboat try and stretcher some chap off, and we saw a lady we think with a broken wrist," he said.

"And there was a younger girl that was brought off.

"It's horrific - a very bad accident and hopefully they will get to the bottom of what happened."

Image caption South Central Ambulance Service and the coastguard also responded to the incident

According to reports in the Daily Echo, an RNLI spokeswoman said the girl had been with her family on the boat, and two people were flung into the water.

"The girl was not one of those but there are ramifications of crashing into anything at speed and she suffered impact injuries", she reportedly said.

Hampshire Constabulary is investigating the incident, which happened just after 10:00 BST, along with the Maritime and Coastguard Agency and the Marine Accident Investigation Branch.

Officers have refused to name the company which owns the RIB but confirmed it had been on a commercial trip run by a local company.

Detectives are appealing for witnesses and video footage from people who may have been out on the water or seen the incident from a ferry heading to the Isle of Wight at the time.

Det Supt Neil Corrigan said: "This was a tragic incident, and our thoughts remain with the young girl's family at this difficult time.

"We are now building a picture of what happened on the water that day, and the circumstances leading up to this collision.

"It is important that we gather as much visual evidence as we can, as well as accounts from any witnesses."