Five dead as Sydney Harbour joyride goes wrong
Pastor Dale Morgan
Five dead as Sydney Harbour joyride goes wrong*
Reuters
Thursday, May 1, 2008; 6:42 AM
SYDNEY (Reuters) - Five people were killed in Sydney Harbour on Thursday
when a boat packed with revelers on a nighttime joyride and a fishing
trawler collided, police said.
The owner of the small cruiser said his vessel, which was carrying 14
people, almost twice its legal capacity, appeared to have been stolen by
a group of youths.
An American citizen was among those killed in the accident near
Bradley's Head, the U.S. Consulate in Sydney said.
"One was heading out to sea and one was coming in. The trawler was
heading out to sea. The small boat was out on a social activity," a
police spokesman told a news conference.
The accident brought to 10 the number of people killed in collisions in
the busy harbour since March 2007, which have prompted local authorities
to consider tighter boating regulations.
Four women and one man, aged from their late teens to early 20s, were
killed, and nine people were taken to hospital, two with serious injuries.
Australian media said all the casualties appeared to be from the 23-foot
(7-metre) half-cabin cruiser, which was owned by a ship-repair company.
"Our boats would only go on the harbour at night-time if we were called
out to an emergency for one of our clients' vessels and that certainly
didn't occur last night," boat owner John McPherson told local media.
"It appears that somebody has decided that they were going to take our
boat for a joy ride and this horrible event's happened."
Passers-by helped those in the water to reach shore, and rescue boats
and helicopters rescued survivors within an hour.
"So much of Sydney's life and activity happens in and around the
harbour. People go out to celebrate and have a good time, and for this
to be the end of it is just breathtaking," Australian Prime Minister
Kevin Rudd said during a speech at the opening of a medical school in
Melbourne.
There was no immediate word on why the boats collided. Local fishermen
said the harbour was calm overnight, with plenty of light and little wind.
Just over a year ago, four people were killed when a ferry collided with
a private boat under Sydney Harbour Bridge.
(Reporting by James Grubel; Editing by John Chalmers)