A HEROIC sailor has told of the dramatic moment he risked his life to save another man from a sinking boat in the Solent.

Chris Macdonald leapt onto a capsized tug and pulled a trapped colleague to safety just minutes before the vessel sunk into freezing waters near the Fawley refinery.

Now as marine investigators continue probing what caused the incident - Chris has spoken for the exclusively to the Daily Echo about the dramatic night time rescue.

And he reveals his former role as a RNLI lifeboat crewman and his current job's training equipped him with the vital skills to pull off the feat.

It comes after the damaged tug Asterix, belonging to Solent Towage, was recovered from the bottom of Southampton Water.

The drama unfolded when Asterix flipped over while towing a ship out of the refinery in windy conditions.

Daily Echo:

One of the tug's crew had been on deck and was able to jump into the water, but the other was unaccounted for.

It triggered a rescue operation from Calshot RNLI, Solent Coastguard, the Southampton Port patrol boat and Red Funnel ferries Chris, who works as a launch coxswain on the fellow Solent Towage tug Phenix, was involved in efforts to secure the stricken vessel with ropes.

But nearly an hour into the mission he spotted the missing man's arm appear at the vessel's wheelhouse window and realised he was inside.

Chris, 31, said: “No-one knew whether he was alive or not and it was a split second decision to get a hammer, tie a rope around me, get someone to hold it and then jump on.

“I smashed the window so I could fall into the boat and grab him and pull him out.

“He was conscious and coughing and spluttering and then in shock as he realised he had been saved.

“I didn't notice the cold water because of the adrenaline.”

A crew from Calshot RNLI pulled up alongside to haul Chris and the man into their boat.

The man was “severely hypothermic” and was given oxygen before being taken to Southampton General Hospital.

Ironically Chris - who along with the other tug member was checked out at the same hospital - previously worked with RNLI crew while serving as a rescuer at the station for five years.

The father-of-two added: “Everyone was congratulating me for what I had done.

“I've done a lot of training with the lifeboat for a good few years and I know what's going to be safe and what's not.

“I would do the same thing again at the drop of a hat. I am not going to watch a colleague go to the bottom of the sea when I could save him.”

An inquiry by the Marine Accident Investigation Branch into the incident at 8.10pm on March 30 incident is ongoing.