A WOMAN sparked a 999 rescue drama when she watched her husband fall overboard from a dinghy while talking to her over FaceTime.

The middle aged man was in a grey dinghy while talking to his wife when he collided with a buoy, causing him to plunge into the River Itchen while his boat’s engine was still running.

As the man fell overboard his phone flew on to the floor of the boat looking up at the sky while his wife was still on the phone.

She realised he had gone into the water and alerted the coastguard who sent four crew members from Calshot Lifeboat to his rescue.

A spokesperson from Solent Coastguard said: “This is not an incident that we see regularly at all and I do not think we have encountered this before.

“The man was not wearing a kill cord either which is very dangerous because if a person goes overboard and the propeller is still running it can make the boat turn towards the person in the water.”

The boat driver, who is believed to keep his boat in Hampshire, was not wearing a lifejacket during his journey, but managed to pull himself out of the water, according to the spokesman.

The man was recovered by the rescue team and was escorted back to the shore and checked over after the incident which took place on Tuesday night.

He did not need any medical treatment, but was given safety advice by the team for future trips.

The crew emphasised to him the importance of looking out to sea while steering a boat, as well as the dangers of secondary drowning.

It is not known why he was in the dinghy on the river at the time of the incident.

FaceTime is Apple’s video and audio calling service which allows users to see the person they are calling using Wi-Fi or mobile data.

It can be used from any iPhone, iPad, iPod touch or Mac computer, to call anyone else using these devices. A spokesman for Apple was unavailable for comment.