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At least three dead in Sydney harbour ferry crash

29 Mar 2007 05:13:33 GMT
Source: Reuters

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A ferry, similar to one involved in an overnight fatal collision, passes underneath the Sydney Harbour Bridge March 29, 2007. Police said three people were killed and a teenage girl is missing after a collision between a ferry and a private boat late in the evening of March 28, 2007.
REUTERS/WILL BURGESS

(Recasts, add details)

By Jonathan Standing

SYDNEY, March 29 (Reuters) - Three people were killed and a 14-year-old girl was missing after a Sydney harbour ferry ploughed into a private motor boat filled with late-night partygoers under the Australian city's iconic harbour bridge.

Police said eight people were injured in the collision at about 11 p.m. (1300 GMT) on Wednesday, which caused the wooden motor boat to roll over and then disintegrate. One woman lost part of a leg and a six-year-old boy suffered minor injuries.

The 30-metre (98-foot) ferry, which has a capacity of 150 passengers, a displacement of 3-5 tonnes and can travel at up to 22 knots (25 miles per hour), was returning to dock and was not carrying passengers. It suffered only minor damage.

The 10-metre (33-foot) wooden motor cruiser was carrying 12 people who were in Sydney to attend a week-long ice-skating event.

Local media said the missing teenager was a promising skater, while a former Australian Olympic figure skater, Liz Cain, was badly injured.

A witness on a passing ferry told local radio he heard a thud and then an announcement that the boat he was on was going to the aid of a vessel in distress.

"There were people in the water there was a lot of wreckage lots of shouting, mayhem, terrible sight," Clive Marshall told Australian Broadcasting Corp. Radio.

He said people were calling out for their friends and calling for help. A member of the crew and a passenger from the ferry he was on dived into the water to help, he added.

"The boat was in pieces. It was a chaotic scene," he said.

Television pictures showed helicopters shining searchlights onto the waters of the harbour. Police divers and a navy vessel were also searching for the missing girl.

It was the second fatal accident in two months involving ferries in one of the busiest parts of the harbour. In January a ferry ran into a small fishing boat, also near the bridge, critically injuring a fisherman, who later died.

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Last updated:Thu Mar 29 05:14:35 2007