Two men in their 30s have been taken to hospital, one with life-threatening injuries, after a boat crash on the Gold Coast.
The boat crashed into a marine marker on Runaway Bay at about 5am on Friday. green fabric
Police initially received conflicting reports about how many people were on board the dinghy, but have since confirmed it was two men.
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One of the men was thrown into the water, while the skipper was significantly injured and was “lodged in the boat in a position where he couldn’t be removed”, police Senior Sergeant Peter Venz said.
“That boat has then lost control and was spinning out of control out there in the broadwater, before it has struck a 12m catamaran that was in anchor.
“That’s alerted the captain of that ship who’s then got out of bed and saw the vessel spinning out of control.”
Captain, David Crossley, saw the injured 34-year-old boatie near South Stradbroke Island and killed the boat’s transmission.
“He was semi-conscious, badly concussed, repeating himself over and over again,” Crossley said.
Crossley towed the boat to the nearby South Currigee campground, where campers have given the man first aid.
“(He had) broken arms, broken leg, ribs broken. He had teeth smashed in his face. He was in an absolute state,” camper, Tracey Adams, said.
“We had to use the camp kitchen table as a stretcher.”
Paramedics treated him for “substantial” injuries before taking him to Gold Coast University Hospital, where he has been placed in an induced coma.
The second man on board, aged 36, swam to the mainland and went looking for help, knocking on people’s doors.
He was taken to hospital in a stable condition, and has since been discharged.
discount marine vinyl Queensland Police are continuing to investigate the circumstances of the crash.