Two people participating in the annual Sydney to Hobart yacht race in Australia have died in separate accidents, according to police.
Both crew members died in separate incidents after being struck by the boom – the large pole attached horizontally to the bottom of the sail.
Event organizers said the incidents happened on Flying Fish Arctos and Bowline.
The first boats are expected to arrive in Hobart, Tasmania, later Friday or early Saturday. A few have already been retired due to bad weather.
New South Wales (NSW) police said the first incident was reported to officers shortly before midnight on Thursday local time (1250 GMT) by the Australian Maritime Safety Authority in the country's capital Canberra.
Just over two hours later, at 02:15 on Friday, NSW Police were told the crew of the second boat were performing CPR on the second man, which also did not work.
Flying Fish Arctos was sailing about 30 nautical miles east/southeast of the New South Wales town of Ulladulla, organizers said.
Meanwhile, Bowline was approximately 30 nautical miles east/northeast of the town of Batemans Bay, also in NSW.
“Our thoughts are with the crews, family and friends of those who died,” organizers said in a statement.
“The journey from Sydney to Hobart is an Australian tradition and it is heartbreaking that two people were lost in what should have been a time of joy,” Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said.
The race that started on Thursday continued.
This is not the first time there have been fatalities during the race, which was first held in 1945.
Six people, including British Olympic yachtsman Glynn Charles, died in 1998 after raging storms battered competitors.