Teenage boy in critical condition after dramatic speedboat crash near Southampton

Witnesses the Martini Vector shot into the air 'like a rocket' and flipped over

The capsized boat was towed back to a marina after the injured passengers were taken to safety. Picture: Kerr Davidson (Kerr Davidson/Twitter)

A teenage boy is in hospital with critical head injuries after a dramatic speedboat crash near Southampton.

Eyewitnesses said the Vector Martini shot into the air “like a rocket” after hitting a buoy and flipped over, crashing back into the water upside down.

The boy and three other men on board were rescued from the capsized vessel in Southampton Water, near the Warsash Maritime Academy, shortly after 8am.

Lifeboats took them to the shore, where they were transferred by ambulance to Southampton General Hospital.

A spokesperson for the South Coast Ambulance Service said the teenage boy was “in a life-threatening condition”.

The accident, on a busy stretch of water where the River Hamble meets Southampton Water, was witnessed by dozens of horrified members of the public.

Daniel Ubertini, 66, told the Daily Echo he was already watching the boat because it was travelling “very fast”, at 15 knots or more, when it hit the yellow buoy.

He described the speedboat going between Southampton and nearby Gosport, in The Solent, repeatedly “at very high speeds”.

Ray Dittrich, who was fishing on his boat nearby, said he and the crew of another vessel helped pull the injured passengers out of the water.

The crash was near where the River Hamble meets Southampton Water (Google)

“The boat came clean out of the water like a rocket and then it flipped over and landed on its back,” he told the BBC.

Vector Martinis are renowned racing boats and have a top speed of 110mph.

Mark Weatherhead, helmsman of the Calshot RNLI crew who took the men ashore, said they were already on board the second boat when he arrived minutes after the crash.

“Our RNLI crew members, which included a paramedic, immediately went aboard the workboat and began treating all four people who were injured,” he added.

“Three of them had suffered head injuries with one serious.”

Another paramedic was winched down from a rescue helicopter, which then followed the capsized speedboat as it was towed back to a marina.

A spokesperson for the Marine and Coastguard Agency said the speedboat had crashed into a cardinal marker, a type of floating buoy.

The police and Marine Accident Investigation Branch have been informed.