‘Unbelievable’: River crash sparks fierce debate

Footage of a bizarre collision between a hire boat and a rower on Melbourne’s busy Yarra River has divided opinion, with some labelling the incident “unbelievable”.

The video, uploaded to Tik Tok by Paul Dowsley, captured the moment the kayak crashed into the motorboat, which appeared to refuse to give way on the busy river.

The rower, who had their back to the boat, capsized immediately after the collision, disappearing into the river before hanging onto the kayak as it was swept away.

Published with the caption “whose fault?”, the video sparked a debate online about who caused the crash, with the boat full of three women continuing on, seemingly unfazed.

“So many things wrong with what’s going on here. The hire boat is in the wrong, should have taken action earlier to avoid a collision,” the account Terrence Dean Boats wrote.

Many users were quick to point out that under law the powered boat should have given way to the kayak, with others perplexed by the response by the hire boat.

“They didn’t even flinch. Unbelievable,” wrote one user on Tik Tok.

Another user on Reddit added: “I cannot believe they kept going and didn't help out the poor guy.”

One Reddit user pointed out the obvious risk on the busy river, writing: “Letting a bunch of unlicensed people ride boats in the river. What could possibly go wrong?”

The drivers of the boat, which had a desk in the middle of the vessel, were not without their defenders, with one person writing: “The river cyclist is always in the wrong.”