By Daily Mail Reporter Last updated at 8:37 PM on 10th November 2011 Two offshore racers have been killed after their powerful speedboat flipped up into the air before crashing at high speed at a world championship event. Spectators and organisers watched as Big Thunder Marine - a 46ft Skater catamaran with four 1,200 horsepower engines - was almost torn open by the force of the collision. The powerboat came down so hard in the third lap of the seven-lap race that its right front hull was severely damaged. The accident led to the deaths of throttleman Robert M. Morgan, of Sunrise Beach, Missouri, and driver Jeffrey Tillman, of Kaiser, Missouri.
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46-foot catamaran almost torn open by the force of the collision
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Driver and throttleman pulled alive from wreckage but later die
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Tragedy mars opening day of Key West event in Florida
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