Man killed after boat struck by whale at La Perouse
Two men whose boat was struck by a breaching whale in Sydney waters this morning have been identified. One of the fisherman died in the freak accident.
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A keen Sydney fisher clung onto his dying brother-in-law for 45 minutes after a whale breached and landed on top of their boat in a freak incident that has stunned the fishing community.
Darren Curmi, 53, and his brother-in-law Stuart Collings, 61, left the Foreshore Boat Ramp at Port Botany on board the “Rock On In” in the early hours of Saturday morning to fish.
Mr Curmi was at the helm of the boat when, around 30 minutes into their journey, a “huge” whale breached and landed on the vessel.
Witnesses who were also on the water just outside the heads at Botany Bay told The
Telegraph they heard a “big bang” before the 4.8m boat tipped.
“Something big came out of the water, it was huge,” they said. “It was still dark but you could see this big black shape jump out of the water.”
Mr Curmi and Mr Collings were thrown into the water in the dark as their boat ran laps away from them. It’s understood Mr Collings was knocked unconscious during the impact.
For the next 45 minutes, Mr Curmi held his brother-in-law above water as he called for help.
Police were alerted to the incident by other boaters, who saw the empty Rock On In circling waters off Cape Banks at La Perouse.
NSW Water Police arrived quickly after and pulled the men to safety.
Attempts to revive Mr Collings were unsuccessful and the 61-year-old was declared deceased at the Foreshore Boat Ramp.
Mr Curmi was visibly shaken when he arrived back at the boat ramp and was treated by NSW Ambulance paramedics, before being taken to hospital in a stable condition.
He spent the day at St George Hospital, with police visiting him to try and piece together exactly what happened on Saturday morning.
NSW Police acting Superintendent Siobhan Munro said police were told the whale “breached near the boat or onto the boat”.
“I believe the skipper stayed as close as he could to the deceased and was doing all he could to keep him afloat until police arrived,” she said.
The boat was towed back to the San Souci NSW Maritime Marine Centre on Saturday afternoon where forensic officers assessed the vessel for damage.
However, the fatality is being described as nothing more than a freak accident.
“This is a tragic accident. The detectives from the marine area command will have carriage of this matter and will find out the exact circumstances of how this occurred,” Acting Superintendent Munro said.
NSW Maritime executive director Mark Hutchings said an “incredible” number of whales were migrating through Sydney this year - with other fishers saying the waters were teeming with the ocean giants.
“If you are on the water you need to be 100 metres away from an adult whale, and 300 metres if that whale has a calf,” Mr Hutchins said.
“The whales aren’t there to harm anyone, but those interactions can happen.”
A keen fisher, Mr Curmi is known to friends and anglers as Disco Daz, with the moniker emblazoned in his boat.
“This is a shock and a tragedy,” one friend of Mr Curmi said on the condition of anonymity.
“I can’t imagine what he must be feeling.
“This is not something anyone expects to will ever happen. We can’t wrap our heads around it.”
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