New Hampshire, July 25, 2024 – A humpback whale has capsized a small fishing boat off the coast of New Hampshire with two frightened sailors on board.Â
The large mammal was caught on camera breaching through the waters off the coast of Portsmouth on Tuesday.
In the startling footage, the animal can be seen bringing its snout down on the rear of the small vessel sending the two people onboard into the water.
Bystanders made a terrifying mayday call after watching a humpback whale breach and sink a ship.
The incident happened near Odiorne Point State Park on Tuesday, with two fishermen, Ryland Kenney and Greg Paquette, being thrown overboard.
Nearby boats had watched the scene unfold, with one man making a mayday call to the U.S. Coast Guard.
In the call, the unknown man can be heard saying: ‘Mayday, mayday, flipped vessel, two passengers safe on another vessel, boat sinking.
‘There were two people on board, they are currently on another vessel, they are still out here with us, everybody is safe.’
The male caller continues: ‘There boat was hit by the whale, capsized, they were thrown into the water and pulled out onto the adjoining vessel. Boat is currently upside-down sinking.’
The coast guard communications officer can be heard repeating the information and calling for assistance as the call ends.
Kenney told WMUR-TV: ‘He went under, he disappeared for a few minutes, and then the next thing we know, he just popped right up on our transom.’
Kenney and Paquette said that they had seen the whale earlier in the day and had been trying to keep their distance.
Paquette added: ‘When I turned, the whale’s head was already landing on the engine. I look down, the boat is pitching up, the transom is going down into the water.’
Kenney said: ‘Everything seemed like in slow motion. It was really weird.
‘Everyone was like, “Oh, it was eight seconds. How’d you move so fast?'” But it was almost slow motion, like a movie.’
Brothers Colin and Wyatt Yager had been out fishing when the whale appeared, and came to the rescue of the fishermen.
The brothers managed to capture the whale smashing the vessel and it capsizing on video.
Colin told the outlet: ‘I had my fishing rod right here, phone in my hand and just saw it go up, and was just lucky enough to be facing the right direction.’
While his brother added: ‘I saw it come up, and I was just like, ‘Oh no, it’s going to hit the boat!’ and then it started to flip.’
According to a statement by the US Coast Guard, the whale was not injured in the encounter.
Sara Morris, of the University of New Hampshire Shoals Marine Laboratory, said the whale was likely feeding when it came into contact with the boat.
The brothers, seen here, managed to capture the whale smashing into the vessel and it capsizing on video.
She said: ‘The whales are moving around underwater and coming up, potentially in an area different from where they went down, and we want to give them as much leeway as we possibly can to avoid a situation like what you see here.’
While Orcas have been known to attack boats, humpbacks generally only approach boats when curious, rather than angry or feeling threatened.
Humpbacks are generally considered gentle, although people who choose to swim with them are potentially at risk of being struck by the animal’s fluke (tail) if they end up swimming into a blind spot. (Mail Online)
