Woman, 20, killed in 'tragic' Sydney boat crash 'a German national'
A 20-year-old woman killed after two small boats collided off Sydney’s northern beaches on Sunday night is believed to be a German national, NSW Police said.
Emergency services were called to Rocky Point in Pittwater just before 7pm after receiving reports that two five-metre runabout vessels had crashed offshore.
The young woman was found unconscious in one of the boats and could not be revived, despite the best efforts of critical care paramedics that were winched down to the difficult to access collision site.
She was pronounced dead at the scene, NSW Police said.
“This female has not been formally identified but we believe her to be a 20-year-old German national,” Detective Superintendent Murray Reynolds, NSW Police commander of the Marine Area Command, said during a press conference on Monday.
A 19-year-old man known to the woman was also treated at the scene and airlifted to Royal North Shore Hospital where he is undergoing surgery, he added.
Det Sup Reynolds said only two people were involved in the accident and police are investigating whether they were on seperate vessels or the same one.
“We are yet to understand exactly what happened, but potentially the vessels were going in opposite directions but again that is subject to our investigation,” he said.
Witnesses hear person screaming for help
Witnesses in the area told 9 News they heard a loud bang and someone screaming for help at the time of the crash.
NSW Ambulance Inspector Christie Marks described the rescue attempt as “very difficult”.
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"This was a major mobilisation of emergency services in very difficult circumstances – pitch black, across cold water, in a very inaccessible location," she said.
“I’m sorry that there's been such a tragic outcome in this case."
Police are urging anyone who saw or heard anything to contact them. A report is being prepared for the coroner.
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