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Two people taking part in Australia’s annual Sydney to Hobart yacht race have died in separate incidents, according to police.<\/p>\n
Both crew members died in separate incidents after being hit by a boom – the large pole attached horizontally to the bottom of a sail. <\/p>\n
The event’s organisers said the incidents happened on the Flying Fish Arctos and Bowline.<\/p>\n
The first boats are expected to arrive in the city of Hobart, in Tasmania, later on Friday or early on Saturday. Several have already retired due to bad weather. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n
New South Wales (NSW) police said the first incident was reported to officers just before midnight on Thursday local time (12:50 GMT) by the Australian Maritime Safety Authority in the country’s capital, Canberra. <\/p>\n
Just over two hours later, at 02:15 on Friday, NSW police were told that crew aboard the second boat were giving CPR to the second person, which also had not worked. <\/p>\n
Flying Fish Arctos had been sailing approximately 30 nautical miles east\/south-east of the NSW town of Ulladulla, the organisers said. <\/p>\n
Bowline, meanwhile, was approximately 30 nautical miles east\/north-east of the town of Batemans Bay, also in NSW. <\/p>\n
“Our thoughts are with the crews, family and friends of the deceased,” the organisers said in a statement. <\/p>\n
“The Sydney to Hobart is an Australian tradition, and it is heart-breaking that two lives have been lost at what should be a time of joy,” said Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.<\/p>\n
The race, which began on Thursday, has continued.<\/p>\n
It is not the first time there have been fatalities during the race, which was first held in 1945.<\/p>\n
Six people, including British Olympic yachtsman Glyn Charles, died in 1998 after raging storms hit competitors. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n