Two people are dead after being struck by sailing booms during the Sydney to Hobart race

Two people have died after being struck by sailing booms during the Sydney to Hobart race. This was reported by Reuters on December 27.

It is specified that two sailors died during the yacht race Sydney - Hobart, which was the first case of death of people in the prestigious ocean race since 1998.

Race organizers said the incidents occurred on the yachts Flying Fish Arctos and Bowline, and both men died after being struck by a boom, a horizontal pole that holds the sails and swings according to wind direction.

NSW Police said crew members administered cardiopulmonary resuscitation to the first casualty, but the sailor could not be saved. Then, a couple hours later, a crew member from another vessel was also struck by a sail boom and died.

"The sailing community is a very close-knit community and there are about a thousand sailors involved in this race on the water and to lose two of them is just catastrophic," said Cruising Yacht Club of Australia Vice Commodore David Jacobs.

Earlier, on October 19, 2021, a Brazilian Navy sail training vessel crashed into a pedestrian bridge that connects the Ecuadorian city of Guayaquil to the island of Santay. No one was injured as a result of the accident, and law enforcement authorities are conducting an investigation into the incident.