The Sydney to Hobart yacht race has suffered a double tragedy after two sailors died in separate incidents. New South Wales Police say a crew member of one Sydney to Hobart entry was struck by a sail boom just before midnight.

Two people on separate yachts have died during the Sydney to Hobart race overnight.At about 11.50pm, police were told a crew member on board a yacht had been struck by a sail boom.Crew members performed CPR but the injured person did not survive.

The crews of more than 100 yachts set sail on Thursday on a "boat-breaking" Sydney-Hobart yacht race, with gale-force winds and high seas forecast

LawConnect, which won line honours last year, was first past the turning mark in Australia’s premier yachting event but ran into sail issues.

Tragedy has struck during the Sydney Hobart yacht race overnight with two people on two separate vessels have been killed.

There have been plenty of “firsts” in the history of the Sydney to Hobart yacht race which was first held in 1945.

One sailor each on Flying Fish Arctos and Bowline were killed after being struck by the boom, a large horizontal pole at the bottom of the sail.

Defending line honors champion LawConnect led the Sydney to Hobart yacht fleet out of Sydney harbor at the start of the 79th running of the 628-nautical mile (722 miles, 1,160 kilometers) race

More than 100 yachts have set sail in the annual Sydney to Hobart race. They’re expected to face wild weather, including gale-force winds and waves of up to three and a half metres. Reporter Elinya Chenery is at Watsons Bay in Sydney.