Dozens of Drones Crash Into Sydney Harbour During Festival

Nearly 90 drones plunged into Sydney’s Darling Harbour during the popular Vivid Sydney festival after a technical malfunction disrupted a nighttime light show.

Videos shared online showed the drones falling from the sky into the water near crowds of spectators, causing confusion among visitors.

Festival organizers said Monday’s incident was caused by “unforeseen technical difficulties”, prompting the cancellation of several additional performances as a precaution.

British company Skymagic, which operated the show, said an unexpected change in radio frequency after takeoff interfered with the drones’ navigation systems and triggered automatic safety landing procedures.

“The sound of them hitting the pier was very loud”, a Darling Harbour employee identified as Robert told Australia’s ABC. According to Skymagic, none of the drones fell outside designated safety zones.

The Star-Bound light show uses as many as 1,000 drones and had been scheduled for 22 performances during the three-week festival. Organizers said further programming would be reviewed following a full investigation conducted with government agencies.

(bbc, bak)