 A whale has struck a boat in Australia, killing one man and leaving another injured, police say. The men were on a fishing expedition when their boat was hit in waters off La Perouse, 14 km (nine miles) south-east of Sydney. The alarm was raised after the vessel was spotted unoccupied and circling. Deaths caused by whales in the region are rare, and a state minister for New South Wales called it "an absolute freak accident". Police said in a statement the likely collision had caused the boat to tilt, throwing both men overboard. "Early reports are that a whale may have breached near the boat, or on to the boat," Water Police Acting Superintendent Siobhan Munro said, adding that she had not seen a similar incident before. The victim, 61, was found unconscious and died at the scene, officials said. The 53-year-old skipper was pulled from the water and taken to hospital, where he is in a stable condition. Australia's coastline hosts 10 large and 20 smaller species of whales. It is not yet clear which species was involved in Saturday's collision.){kind=link}
A whale has struck a boat in Australia, killing one man and leaving another injured, police say.
The men were on a fishing expedition when their boat was hit in waters off La Perouse, 14 km (nine miles) south-east of Sydney.
The alarm was raised after the vessel was spotted unoccupied and circling.
Deaths caused by whales in the region are rare, and a state minister for New South Wales called it “an absolute freak accident”.
Police said in a statement the likely collision had caused the boat to tilt, throwing both men overboard.