Two sailors have been killed hours apart in Australia’s most prestigious annual yacht race. The crew members died after being struck by the sail boom, a horizontal pole which holds down the sails, in separate incidents on the first night of the annual race from Sydney to Hobart, the race organiser said on Friday.

Two sailors died after being struck by sail booms in separate incidents during the annual Sydney to Hobart yacht race as crews grappled with treacherous conditions across the notorious Bass Strait.