Two sailors killed in annual Sydney to Hobart yacht race
Al Jazeera
Crew members died after being struck by the sail boom in separate incidents, organisers say.
Two sailors have been killed hours apart in Australia’s most prestigious annual yacht race.
The crew members died after being struck by the sail boom, a horizontal pole which holds down the sails, in separate incidents on the first night of the annual race from Sydney to Hobart, the race organiser said on Friday.
The deceased sailors were named as Roy Quaden, 55, from Western Australia and Nick Smith, 65, from South Australia.
The Flying Fish Arctos and Bowline yachts were sailing about 30 nautical miles (56km) off the New South Wales coast when the incidents occurred, the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia said.
Efforts by crew members to revive the two sailors were unsuccessful, the club said.
