Difficult weather conditions made the sailing race between Hobart and Sydney deadly.
There was a third fatality in the sailing race. Kuva’s boat crew competes in the Sydney-Hobart race, but is not involved in the deaths. EPA / AOP
In the sailing race currently underway in Australia between Hobart and Sydney, there have been no fewer than two fatalities.
the BBC according to the competition, which started on Boxing Day, there have been two different accidents. In both cases, the boom of the sailboat hit the crew member in the head.
A 55-year-old man lost his life Roy Quade and 65 years old Nick Smith.
The first accident happened on the Flying Fish Arctos boat. The boat sent a mayday message shortly before midnight local time. Attempts were made to revive the hit person without success.
– The boat moved violently throughout the night in challenging sea conditions. One of the crew members received a serious head injury, inspector Joseph McNulty told reporters, according to the Guardian.
Two hours later, a similar accident occurred on the Bowline boat. The police suspect that the sails on both boats were being changed at the time of the accident.
The third fatality was close, when a crew member ran aground on the Porco Rosso boat around three in the morning. At the time of the event, a strong wind was blowing.
A crew member drifted in the water for a kilometer before being rescued. Rescued crew member Luke Watkins describes For the Guardian a big wave washed him off the boat. When he surfaced, the boat was already 200 meters away.
– It was quite difficult to be crushed by the waves. It was difficult to keep myself above the surface of the water, so I swallowed some sea water.
16 boats have stopped sailing due to bad weather.
The traditional sailing competition has been organized since 1945. In 1998, six people died in the event due to difficult weather conditions. After that, the safety of competitors was improved.