Police say they're investigating after the death of a man when a whale struck his boat in Sydney's Botany Bay. They say they're also ramping up safety checks on the water as boating season begins.
On the last day of September, John Klapsis had just returned from an all-night fishing trip with his son when he found a police operation underway in Sydney's Botany Bay.
A forensic examination of the boat is now underway, and the Foreshore Road Boat Ramp at Botany is currently closed as police investigate the incident. "A witness vessel was travelling out through the headlands and noticed the vessel doing laps without anybody on board. And that's when they identified there were two people in the water and called emergency services."The Royal Life Saving Society says on average, 49 people drown in Australia every year while using boats and watercrafts.
"We know it's been winter, people haven't had their boats out. So we want them to check their licences, make sure their boats are registered. So what we would ask, the one takeaway potentially is please wear your lifejacket at all times. There's an incredible amount of whales around this year migrating south. If you are on the water you need to be 100 metres away from an adult whale, and 300 if that whale has a calf.
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