Orcas sank a tourist yacht off the coast of Portugal
Off the coast of Portugal, orcas rammed a tourist yacht. The vessel sank within minutes, but everyone on board was rescued.
Photo: MrsBrown / Pixabay.com
PORTUGAL — Off the coast of Portugal an extraordinary incident involving orcas occurred. On Saturday, 13 September, near Fonte da Telha beach, which is on the Costa da Caparica coast near Lisbon, predators attacked a tourist yacht.
There were five people on board the vessel at the time of the attack.
The orcas struck the hull several times, and the vessel quickly began to sink.
The crew were evacuated onto boats from Nautic Squad Club. No one was injured.
Sailing company Mercedes-Benz Oceanic Lounge published footage of the attack. It shows an orca persistently ramming the hull.
The National Maritime Authority of Portugal (Autoridade Marítima Nacional) reported that the distress signal was received at 12:30.
Crews from the Cascais rescue station and the Lisbon Port Authority went to assist.
By the time they arrived, the passengers were already on a safe vessel and did not require medical assistance.
Researchers note that since May 2020 hundreds of orca attacks on yachts and boats have been recorded in the waters around the Iberian Peninsula, and scientists still cannot precisely explain the reason for this behaviour.
It was previously reported that the yacht “Dolce Vento”, valued at $1.17 million, sank off the coast of Zonguldak in Turkey 15 minutes after the start of its maiden voyage.
