A tragic and awful event:
BBC REPORT:
Three die in Sydney ferry crash
Police divers are still looking for a missing girl
At least three people have been killed after a passenger ferry collided with a private boat beneath Sydney's Harbour Bridge, officials said.
Crew from the ferry leapt into the water to try to help those thrown overboard from the private boat, but a 14-year-old girl is still missing.
Twelve people were on the boat, most of them members of Australia's ice skating community in Sydney for a seminar.
The New South Wales ambulance service said eight people were injured.
One of the injured, former Olympic figure skater Liz Cain, had to have a leg partially amputated after she was rescued by her son.
Two of the dead were named as Australian figure skating judges Alan Blinn and Simone Moore. The identity of the third victim has not been released.
The missing girl was named as ice skater Morgan Innes.
Screaming for help
The collision took place at about 2245 (1245 GMT) on Wednesday when the HarbourCat Pam Burridge ferry reportedly ploughed over the 10m (33ft) long pleasure boat.
One witness, Clive Marshall, told local radio: "The boat basically just disintegrated. There were a couple of people hanging on to the wreckage.
"We had people in the water and bits of boat and the boat sinking and people screaming for their missing friends."
The head of Sydney Ferries, Rear Admiral Geoff Smith, backed the captain of the ferry involved in the accident.
He described him as experienced and highly regarded.
"He's very distressed and we're providing him with counselling support," he said.
Sydney harbour is busy with hundreds of boats and ferries every day, though fatal collisions are rare.
In January a ferry ran into a fishing boat, injuring a fisherman who later died.
This month the iconic Harbour Bridge marked the 75th anniversary of its opening.