Two crew members participating in the Sydney to Hobart yacht race in Australia are dead after separate accidents at sea, police announced late Thursday.

The Cruising Yacht Club of Australia in Sydney said Friday that one sailor each on entrants Flying Fish Arctos and Bowline were killed after being struck by the boom, a large horizontal pole at the bottom of the sail.

The men were hit in the head by booms on their yachts in separate episodes, as participants faced challenging weather conditions, the police said.

Organizers said Friday that two Sydney to Hobart sailors have died at sea amid wild weather conditions that forced line honors favorite Master Lock Comanche to withdraw among mass retirements.

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.

Two sailors have been killed in separate incidents in the treacherous Sydney to Hobart bluewater classic, officials said Friday, as a string of yachts limped out of a race fleet battered by powerful winds.

Two people taking part in Australia's annual Sydney to Hobart yacht race have died in separate incidents, according to police. Both crew members died in separate incidents after being hit by a boom - the large pole attached horizontally to the bottom of a sail.

Two sailors have died in separate incidents in the treacherous Sydney to Hobart bluewater classic, race organizers in Australia said on Friday. Both crew members were hit by booms as the yachts were making their way south along the New South Wales coast after setting off from Sydney Harbor in the race that traditionally gets underway on Boxing Day every year.