Five killed in Sydney Harbour crash

Updated May 1, 2008 11:00:18

14 people were on board the boat when it collided with a trawler. [AAP]

Five young people are dead and nine have been injured after the overloaded small boat they were in was hit by a trawler in Sydney Harbour, on Australia's east coast, early Thursday morning.

The crash between the trawler 'Jordan' and the other vessel, apparently belonging to a ship-repairing company, happened off Bradleys Head, about 150 metres from the wharf used by visitors to Sydney's famous Taronga Park Zoo.

The smaller, 23-foot boat was rated to carry eight people, but had 14 people aged between 18 and 31 on board.

Four of the dead were female and all were in their late teens or early 20s.

All the injured were male apart from an 18-year-old woman, who is in Sydney's Royal North Shore hospital with spinal injuries.

A 30-year-old man was airlifted to the hospital in a critical condition and is undergoing surgery.

Police say the half-cabin boat, owned by a ship-repairing company, was not operating commercially at the time of the crash.

A police spokesman said he could not comment on whether the boat had its navigation lights switched on or whether the victims were wearing lifejackets.

But he said the "indications are" that it was overloaded.

The trawler was heading out to sea with two crewmen on board.

Neither was injured.