Wreckage from the yacht washes up on Flinders Island. Picture: ANDY ZAKELI

Andrew Short in 2008. Picture: Dallas Kilponen

Flinders Islet. Picture: ANDY ZAKELI

A man and a woman have been killed and 16 others rescued after a yacht struck rocks and overturned off Port Kembla early this morning.The yacht PriceWaterhouseCoopers was racing in an event from Sydney to Flinders Islet and back when it ran aground just before 3am and sank.Eighteen people on board the 24.4 metre yacht were thrown into the ocean.

UPDATE: Yacht crash victims named

Do you know more? Click here to send us a messageAndrew Short, 48, and Sally Gordon, 47, were pulled from the water by crews from Sydney yachts Ragamuffin and Quest, which were also competing in the 92 nautical-mile Flinders Islet Race.Crew members performed CPR on the pair, however they could not be revived.Fifteen others managed to make their way to Flinders Islet, while water police plucked one man from the water alive. His condition is unknown.Among the injured was a 14-year-old boy who suffered burns to his hand.The survivors were winched from the island onto a rescue helicopter during the three-hour rescue operation and flown to the NSW Water Police base at Port Kembla where they were triaged.They were taken by ambulance to Wollongong Hospital suffering from minor cuts, bruises and hypothermia, while one person was treated for suspected spinal injuries.The 92 nautical-mile race started off Point Piper on Sydney Harbour at 8pm on Friday, and the yacht - which has previously raced in the Sydney to Hobart - ran aground about seven hours into the journey.Those on board the vessel activated a series of red flares about 2.55am on Saturday, which were noticed by competing yachts. Cruising Yacht Club of Australia (CYCA), which organises the race, said the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) and Wollongong water police were alerted and began searching the area. Ragamuffin and Quest went to help the PriceWaterhouseCoopers' crew, CYCA said in a statement, while Sydney yacht Yendys also detoured to help their competitors.
View Yacht crash: two people killed in a larger mapNavigator Will Oxley said the crew of Yendys saw three flares as they were approaching the island. "We saw torchlight in the water too and people on (Flinders) Islet. We knew something was wrong, so we tacked towards them to see if we could give assistance,'' he said. "Ragamuffin and Quest were there too. (The yacht) Loki had rounded the Islet and was six miles away, but radioed to see if they could help."Mr Oxley said winds at Flinders Islet were in the 12-18 knot range from the south-west. The remaining boats in the fleet continued on in the race.Detective Superintendent Mark Hutchings said the rescue mission was extremely difficult. "Waves were about 2.3 metres, the sea was sloppy, but the wind was quite calm,'' he said. "I want to thank everyone involved in what was an extremely difficult rescue mission that was handled very professionally.'' An investigation into the cause of the crash is being carried out, while Maritime Area Command police are preparing a report for the coroner.PriceWaterHouseCoopers was launched in 2000 as Shockwave 5, and that year led the fleet into Bass Straight in the Sydney to Hobart race before retiring after hitting a sunfish. The yacht raced in North America until 2008, when it was brought back to Australia.In 2008 it won the 2008 Gosford to Lord Howe Race.

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Yacht crashes off Port Kembla: two dead

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