-Kelly-

Skater missing, three dead after ferry crash
By 7News

A teenage figure skater is missing, feared drowned, after a ferry crash on Sydney Harbour which left three people dead and two others critically ill.

Morgan Innes, 14, from Queensland, disappeared when an off-duty HarbourCat hit the pleasure cruiser she was on, smashing it in two, as it passed under the city's Harbour Bridge late on Thursday night.

Police helicopters, divers and 10 boats are continuing to search the waters near the crash site for any trace of her.

The 12 passengers on board the 10-metre private boat - all believed to be members of Australia's tight-knit ice skating community - were thrown into the water near Milson's Point when the collision happened.

Skating judges Dr Alan Blinn and Simone Moore were both killed, along with a second man who has yet to be identified.

Former Australian Olympic figure skater turned coach Liz Cain, 35, suffered severe injuries, and has had to have part of her leg amputated.

She and another woman, a 40-year-old who suffered a broken pelvis, are said to be in a critical condition in hospital.

They and the other seven passengers, including a child, who had minor injuries and shock, were pulled from the water by rescuers on a Sydney Ports vessel and a passing ferry.

The skaters, coaches and judges were in Sydney for a week-long seminar by American Olympic coach Kathy Casey at the Canterbury Olympic Ice Rink.

Police have praised the actions of a number of heroic passers-by who jumped into the harbour from the shore to come to the aid of those in trouble, commending their "courage and public spiritedness".

"There were people in the water, there was a lot of wreckage, lots of shouting, mayhem - it was a terrible sight," said Clive Marshall, who was on board the 'Fishburn' ferry in the area at the time.

"[There were] people in the water and bits of boat, and the boat sinking and people screaming for their missing friends."

Investigators say it is too early to say what caused the crash, which happened as the empty HarbourCat 'Pam Burridge' was returning to its overnight mooring. There is no speed limit, and little lighting, under the bridge.

New South Wales Premier Morris Iemma has promised a "thorough, robust and transparent investigation" into the circumstances surrounding the crash.

The HarbourCat's master and crew, and the captain of the motor cruiser, have all been tested for alcohol and drugs. A spokesman for Sydney Ferries said staff alcohol tests had proved negative. The results of the drug tests are not yet known.

Both boats have been recovered from the scene and will be forensically examined by experts.

Wednesday night's crash is the second fatal incident involving a Sydney ferry in recent months.

In January, the RiverCat 'Dawn Fraser' ran into a small boat off Dawes Point, critically injuring the elderly fisherman on board. He lost a leg and suffered a massive heart attack, and died in hospital a week later.

But while Sydney Ferries' boss, Rear Admiral Geoff Smith, admitted that the service's safety record had been poor in the past, he said it was improving.

Rear Admiral Smith said the HarbourCat's master was an "experienced, highly-regarded and well-trained" member of staff. "I have complete confidence in him," he said.

A hotline has been set up for anyone worried about family members who may have been aboard the pleasure boat. Concerned relatives are asked to call: [ phone number edited out ]

Anyone with information about the crash is urged to call the same number.

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This is so awful