On Sunday multiple orcas crashed into a sailboat off the northwestern coast of Spain. The amount of orcas has not been specified, but they did significant damage to the vessel’s rudder.
According to Spain’s maritime rescue service the man and woman on the boat called for a mayday at roughly 4 p.m. GMT. The two onboard have yet to be identified as of yesterday evening.
A Spanish maritime rescue service boat traveled for hours attempting to locate the sailboat. SMRS said that during their search they endured 40 mile per hour winds and waves that were up to 10 feet high.
In the attempt to attach the sailboat to the rescue boat to tow it back to shore, the woman on board injured her hand. The injury was thought to be very serious, and she was airlifted back onto land. The operation was completed at about 9:30 p.m. when all boats arrived back on the docks.
This event is the most recent instance of what has become a bit of a concern for boaters in the North Atlantic Ocean. According to GT Orca Atlántica (GTOA), which is a research group dedicated to killer whales, over the last two years, orcas’ interactions with humans have tripled.
