Five killed in Australia boat collision

SYDNEY, Australia – A fishing trawler collided with an overloaded cabin cruiser that was on a night-time joyride in Sydney’s famous harbor today, killing five young people and injuring nine, authorities said.

Four women and a man, all in their late teens or early 20s, died when the vessels collided in the dark shortly before 3 a.m., police and hospital officials said.

All of the dead and injured were aboard the smaller boat, a 23-foot cruiser owned by a boat repair company that said it appeared to have been stolen for the trip.

Damage to the cruiser suggested it may have been rammed from behind by the trawler, a lobster boat heading out to sea, police said. However, police declined to speculate about the cause of the accident.

Deadly boat collisions in the harbor of Australia’s largest city are rare, and the accident drew comment from the prime minister and other top leaders.

“This is every parent’s nightmare,” Prime Minister Kevin Rudd told Fairfax Radio. “I just am stunned by this.”