Killer whales: Young family rescued after pod of orcas attack their yacht off coast of Portugal

A terrified young family has been rescued from the ocean after their yacht was attacked by a pod of killer whales.

Three children, ages 8, 10 and twelve, and their parents were forced to abandon ship by life raft.

It’s the latest in a series of alarming incidents that have put oceangoers on high alert.

Experts believe the same orca pod may be behind the attacks, four of which occurred in the same week in September.

Killer whales have been causing mayhem on Europe’s Iberian Peninsula since 2020; Hundreds of ship collisions have been recorded off the coasts of Portugal, Spain and Morocco.

In this latest attack, the family was forced to call for emergency help after a frightening nighttime encounter with orcas left their ship damaged and taking on water off the coast of Perniche, Portugal.

They were later captured by a nearby fishing vessel and eventually taken to safety by a Portuguese Air Force helicopter operating overnight on Friday.

Lisbon’s maritime search and rescue team received the distress call and sent an Air Force helicopter, a navy frigate and a lifeboat to rescue the group.

Alongside dramatic rescue footage posted on social media, the air force confirmed details of the incident, saying: “Last night, October 10, the Air Force’s EH-101 Merlin helicopter was activated to rescue five people on board a ship traveling more than 50 kilometers from Peniche.

“The sailboat carrying a couple and three children was attacked by a group of orcas, damaging the boat guiding it into the water.

“Following the incident, five people abandoned the boat using a life raft and were later picked up by a nearby fishing boat.”

The family, apparently from the French town of Lorient, was taken to hospital for medical checks before being discharged and receiving consular assistance.

A number of other incidents of orcas crashing into boats have also been recorded recently; These include four incidents in which people had to be rescued in the same week in September. Metro England reports.

On 15 September, four people had to be rescued from a boat 10 nautical miles off Lisbon; Two days before that, there were five people on a yacht that sank near Fonte da Telha beach, and on the same day, what is believed to be the same pod of orcas crashed into another boat off the Gulf of Cascais.

After a boat sank off the coast of Morocco last year, authorities issued a warning to sailors to be careful.

It was unknown how many orcas were involved in this attack, but some reports indicated it was the work of a notorious pod led by a killer whale dubbed White Gladis by locals.

Some believe that White Gladis may have taught other whales how to attack and sink boats after they had a bad interaction a few years ago during her pregnancy when she crashed into a boat or got caught in a net.

But a group of experts tasked with determining what causes whale drifting and how to stop it discovered last year that orcas just want to have fun, rather than harm humans.

“This looks like a game,” said Naomi Rose, a senior scientist at the Animal Welfare Institute who was part of the working group.

“Obviously it’s a very dangerous game they’re playing. But it’s a game.”

Scientists found that in most cases, orcas approaching ships came from a group of about 15, mostly baby whales.

They typically approach slowly, as if they were about to hit the rudder with their nose and head.

“There is nothing in the animals’ behavior that suggests they are aggressive,” said Zerbini, who was part of the working group.

“They don’t understand that when they play with the rudder, they can damage it and that damaging the rudder will affect people. It’s more play than intentional.”