COASTGUARDS urged sailors today to carry safety equipment after seven people had a lucky escape when they were thrown overboard from their sinking boat off the Hampshire coast.

The 26ft speedboat Deep Purple hit an underwater object in the middle of the Solent and was sinking fast.

The group of four men and three women, two of whom were under 18, managed to call for help before they ended up in the sea at around 1.30am today.

The group's only way of helping rescuers find them was a mobile phone.

There were no radio or flares on board, and only five lifejackets, which meant two people were stranded in the sea without support.

Solent Coastguard sent out its helicopter, the Bembridge and Calshot RNLI lifeboats, the Gosport and Fareham inshore lifeboat and the Hampshire Police launch to help find them.

A Royal Marine rigid inflatable boat heard the distress call on a radio and found the group.

They were cold, wet and hypothermic and one person had a minor head injury when they were pulled from the sea.

They were transferred to a lifeboat and taken to Camber Docks in Old Portsmouth, where an ambulance took them to Queen Alexandra Hospital in Cosham.

Colin Griffiths, Solent Coastguard watch manager, said all leisure sailors could learn safety lessons from the group's "lucky" escape.

"If the vessel had sunk immediately, throwing all of the people into the water rather than giving them time to contact the Coastguard, we could easily have been discussing fatalities this morning," he said.

"To go afloat at night without making sure all your passengers are wearing lifejackets and that you possess a working radio or flares or even a GPS giving your exact location is taking a risk too far.

"They are extremely lucky to be just wet and cold.

"We are checking reports of what they might have struck, but can find no indication on any current chart, which has not been helped by the confusion surrounding their location.

"We suspect it may have been a well-documented mooring buoy."

The group called for help initially as the bow of the speedboat was four feet out the water but sinking fast.

The boat sank as rescuers tried to find them.