One man died and another was injured when his motorboat collided with a whale off the coast of Australia. The two men were thrown from their boat when it was struck by the marine mammal in the waters near the town of La Perouse, southeast of Sydney, early Saturday morning.
It is suspected that the whale fell directly next to or possibly on the boat after jumping out of the water, according to the water police. According to police reports, authorities were alerted by the passengers of a second boat who saw a small, nearly five-meter-long motorboat drifting unmanned in circles.
Authorities said the 53-year-old boater was pulled from nearby waters and taken to a hospital. The other man, a 61-year-old, was rescued unconscious and died at the scene. Siobhan Munro of the water police spoke of a “tragic accident”.
“There are a lot of whales right now”
Humpback whales and southern right whales (also called southern right whales) can be found along the coasts of New South Wales every year. They migrate north to warmer waters during the winter months in Australia, returning between September and November. “Right now there are a lot of whales, and there are a lot of incidents of whales jumping out of the water next to boats,” Munro said.
“When you are on the water, you must be 100 meters away from an adult whale, and 300 (meters, ed.) if that whale has a calf,” said the spokesperson for the water police. “The whales do not intend to harm anyone, but these interactions can occur.”
Source: Krone
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