Australian tourist killed in Fiji boating accident

Suva (Fiji) (AFP) - An Australian man holidaying in Fiji with his family has been killed after two boats collided near a resort island, police said Saturday.

"The man, who we believe was in his mid forties, and was a guest at the Mana Island resort with his wife and two children, died after a serious boat accident on Thursday," Fijian West police spokesman Naina Ragigia said.

He said the man was returning from a fishing trip in a boat carrying four other men when they were hit by another boat travelling at high speed.

The man was rushed to the nearby Mana Resort medical centre where he died of his injuries. Three other people are still receiving treatment at the centre, Ragigia said.

Tourism is the South Pacific nation's highest foreign exchange earner with more than 700,000 Australians and New Zealanders travelling to Fiji annually.

Ragigia said collisions involving tourist boats were rare and the company operating the vessel the man was on had never been involved in an accident before.