A 71-YEAR-OLD Echuca man has died after his boat capsized on Port Phillip Bay near Blairgowrie this morning.
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The man and his wife had been out on their new speedboat when it began to take on water.
Police have told media the couple set out around 10am and about two hours later they got into difficulty.
Unable to stop the flow the couple ended up treading water with their boat upturned beside them.
They were rescued by Kristo Maliadis, who told Channel 7 he had first noticed the bow of the boat sticking out of the water and then saw the people bobbing in the sea next to it.
He carried them back to Blairgowrie where the man suddenly went into what is believed to be cardiac arrest.
Police said he had been conscious on the journey back to shore.
He was receiving CPR and was rushed to Frankston Hospital in a critical condition.
It is believed police have recovered the boat and are conducting tests on it in an attempt to work out what went so tragically wrong.
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