Joyride in Sydney Harbour leads to death of five people

AUSTRALIA: Five people were killed in Sydney Harbour two days ago when a boat packed with revellers on a night-time joyride …

AUSTRALIA:Five people were killed in Sydney Harbour two days ago when a boat packed with revellers on a night-time joyride and a fishing trawler collided, police said.

The owner of the small cruiser said his vessel, which was carrying 14 people, almost twice its legal capacity, appeared to have been stolen by a group of youths.

An American citizen was among those killed in the accident near Bradley's Head, the US consulate in Sydney said.

A police spokesman said: "One was heading out to sea and one was coming in. The trawler was heading out to sea. The small boat was out on a social activity."

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The accident brought to 10 the number of people killed in collisions in the busy harbour since March 2007, prompting local authorities to consider tighter boating regulations.

Four women and one man, aged from their late teens to early 20s, were killed and nine people were taken to hospital, two with serious injuries.

Australian media said all the casualties appeared to be from the 7m (23ft) half-cabin cruiser, which was owned by a ship-repair company.

Boat owner John McPherson said: "It appears that somebody has decided that they were going to take our boat for a joyride and this horrible event's happened."