Uber CEO Kalanick's mother dies in boat accident

Uber CEO Travis Kalanick speaks to students during an interaction at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) campus in Mumbai, India, January 19, 2016. /REUTERS
Uber CEO Travis Kalanick speaks to students during an interaction at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) campus in Mumbai, India, January 19, 2016. /REUTERS

The mother of car hire company Uber's co-founder Travis Kalanick has died in a boating accident in California.

Kalanick's parents Bonnie and Donald were out on a lake in Fresno when their boat sank on Friday.

Bonnie, 71, and her husband were found on the shore of Pine Flat Lake by the emergency services.

Fresno County Sheriff's Office said a preliminary investigation suggested their boat had struck a rock, with the Kalanicks both hurt in the collision.

A spokesman for Uber said the family had suffered "an unspeakable tragedy", adding that Kalanick's father was in a "serious condition".

An investigation into the accident is ongoing, the sheriff's department said, with an autopsy due to be carried out on Sunday.

Kalanick hit the headlines earlier this year when he was .

He later said he was "ashamed" of his behaviour in an email to staff.

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