Witnesses were alerted to the accident when they saw the driverless boat (pictured) circling in the water. Photo: 9 News // YouTube
Whale breaches are spectacular sights that often capture the imaginations of ocean lovers. However, on Saturday, a whale breach in Sydney, Australia turned deadly. When a whale collided with a fishing boat in Botany Bay, the two men inside were ejected into the water, leaving one dead and the other in the hospital.
Darren Curmi, 53, and brother-in-law Stuart Collings, 63, were on a fishing expedition in a 15-foot runabout when they encountered the whale. State Emergency Services Minister Jihad Dib said it was “an absolute freak accident.”
A police statement said the boat, “was likely to have struck or been impacted by a whale breaching, causing the boat to tilt, ejecting both men.” As 9 News reports, police believe the two men were in the water for approximately 45 minutes. They added that Curmi, the skipper of the boat, kept as close as he could to the unconscious Collings and did everything in his power to keep him afloat until help arrived.
“A witness vessel was traveling out to the headlands and noticed the vessel doing laps without anybody on board,” New South Wales Water Police Acting Superintendent Siobhan Munro said. “That’s when they identified that there were two people in the water and called emergency services.”
New South Wales police came to the scene and pulled the men from the water, after which emergency crews performed CPR on Collings. Tragically, their efforts to resuscitate him were unsuccessful. Curmi was found to be uninjured, but was taken to the hospital for monitoring.
“It is a stark reminder that although you could be out on the water having the best day, it could quickly turn into one of the worst days if skippers aren’t prepared or if tragic incidents like this occur,” said Munro.
