SYDNEY, Sept 30 (Reuters) - One man died and another was in hospital on Saturday in Australia after a whale struck and flipped their boat during a fishing expedition, authorities said.
"A whale has been involved, whoever would have thought that that would have occurred, it's terribly tragic," said New South Wales Police Minister Yasmin Catley.
The boat "was likely to have struck or been impacted by a whale breaching, causing the boat to tilt, ejecting both men", police said in a statement.
While human deaths caused by whales in the region are rare, Australia and neighbouring New Zealand are hot spots for mass whale strandings on beaches.
Reporting by Sam McKeith in Sydney; Editing by Cynthia Osterman and William MallardOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
Persons:
it's, Yasmin Catley, Jihad Dib, Danes, Sam McKeith, Cynthia Osterman, William Mallard
Organizations:
Police, New South Wales Police, Emergency Services, Thomson
Locations:
Australia, Botany Bay, Sydney, New, New Zealand