KEY POINTS:
Investigators are checking whether a New Zealand-owned barge was adequately lit when a cabin cruiser smashed into it off the west Australian coast, leaving four elderly people dead.
The quartet were on a fishing trip when their seven-metre boat struck the 85-metre long, New Zealand-owned barge, anchored about 5km off the coast of the small town of Carnarvon, 900km north of Perth, before dawn on Sunday.
The dead have been named as Norma Jean Stock, 77, her husband Frank Sydney Stock, 78, Asger Pedersen, 73, and Stanley Hugh Timlin, 69.
One body was found in the water and the other three in the cabin after the boat sank in about eight metres of water beneath the barge.
The barge had been anchored by its New Zealand skipper and crew before they went by tug boat into Carnarvon for supplies and minor repairs.
Owners SeaTow in Auckland said the barge was properly lit and had a permit to be anchored. But Gary Hornhardt, from the Carnarvon Voluntary Sea Rescue, which helped recover the bodies, said he had heard that the barge was not adequately lit although that was only one aspect of the tragedy being investigated by police.
At least three of the victims were members of the rescue organisation and their deaths had hit him and other volunteers hard, Mr Hornhardt said.
"It is a small town. The guys who went to do the rescue and body recovery are all getting counselling and so are a few of our members.
"It has shocked the whole town ... It has been a pretty sad time and it is pretty hard to talk about it."
He said if the barge was adequately lit, it would mean a light at either end which had to be seen around 360 degrees.
He said the victims may also have thought the anchor lights were stars before they slammed into the side of the barge, possibly at 20 or 30 knots.
Mr Hornhardt said the victims may also have thought two vessels were anchored and tried to go between them.
Sergeant Brian Cowie from the Perth police said all aspects of the fatality would be studied, including the weather, sea conditions, and the barge's position.
Tim Burfoot, chief investigator of accidents at the Transport Accident Investigation Commission in New Zealand, said the Australian Transport Safety Bureau had asked for New Zealand help with the inquiry.
- NZPA
