Botany bay tragedy: Boatie is killed and another man injured after their craft struck a whale and flipped

A man has been killed and another injured after their boat struck a whale and capsized.

Water police rushed to the scene at Cape Banks in La Perouse, in Sydney’s south-east, about 6am after reports that two men were in the water in Botany Bay.

“A man was pulled unconscious from the water,” police said in a statement.

“Attempts to revive him were unsuccessful and he was declared deceased.

‘A second man was picked up and treated by NSW Ambulance paramedics before being taken to hospital.’

The water police were called to the scene around 6 a.m. and officers removed the deceased man from the water, unconscious

He remains in a stable condition at St George Hospital.

Water Police Acting Chief Inspector Siobhan Munro said the whale breached near or on the speeding boat, causing it to capsize.

“Early indications indicate they were in the water for 45 minutes,” he said.

“Right now there are a lot of whales and there are many examples of whales breaching next to boats… but this is a tragic accident.”

Police Minister Yasmin Catley expressed his condolences to the family of the deceased man during a press conference on Saturday morning.

“It’s very early stages and there’s very little information that we know at this point,” she said.

‘(We) were told early on that a whale was involved, who would have thought this would happen?

‘It is terribly tragic and we sympathize with those family and friends.

“This morning two boys got up to go fishing, something I and most people in New South Wales enjoy doing, and found themselves in tragic circumstances.”

The Foreshore Road Boat Ramp at Botany and surrounding roads were closed while police investigated the incident.

Officers pulled two men from the water in Botany Bay, in Sydney’s south-east, early on Saturday morning

The second man was recovered from the water and taken to hospital by NSW Ambulance paramedics in a stable condition