A pregnant woman was saved after her partner dived under the capsized boat they were in to retrieve an emergency flare. The woman had been left in the water clinging to the hull of their overturned trimaran in the English Channel yesterday. Her partner had ensured she was safe, then tied a rope around himself, before diving under the vessel to locate the flare. The pregnant woman and her partner (pictured waiting to be rescued) were stranded off the coast of Kent after their trimaran overturned yesterday . The alarm was raised after a man spotted the couple in the water a mile from Dungeness Point, Kent, at 3.30pm – and a rescue boat was sent to help them. The HM Customs cutter Valiant, which was on the water nearby, and was able to locate the upturned vessel within minutes and spotted a red flare. A Coastguard spokesman said that the cutter stood by the vessel, ensuring the safety of those in the water, until an RNLI lifeboat from Dungeness arrived to pick the couple up from the water and take them ashore. They were taken to the William Harvey Hospital by the rescue helicopter from RAF Watisham. The spokesman said the pair were 'cold and shaken by the ordeal' but unharmed. The alarm was raised after a man spotted the couple in the water a mile from Dungeness Point, Kent . Bob Giles, Dover Coastguard Watch Manager said: 'The couple were thrown into the water after their vessel capsized. 'Both were wearing lifejackets and the man ensured that his partner was safe, then tied a rope around himself and dived under the vessel to retrieve a flare so that he could alert rescuers to their position. 'Because they had AIS (automatic identification system) on board they were easy to locate and so were rescued quickly. 'The member of the public who made the first call to the Coastguard did exactly the right thing by calling 999 and asking for the Coastguard. It meant that we were able to get rescuers to the scene within minutes of the vessel capsizing.'
Woman had been left clinging to the hull of overturned trimaran yesterday . Partner had ensured she was safe before diving under boat to find flare . Their trimaran had overturned more than a mile off the coast of Kent . Coastguard spokesman said pair were 'cold and shaken' but unharmed .