A French-flagged sailboat with four crew members sank after an orca attack that lasted 45 minutes. The videos shared by the victims show the tense moments from the moment the animals started circling the boat until the flooding started. The case was registered last week in Portugal, about 25 kilometers off the coast of Viana de Castelo.
Augustin Drion was one of the people on board. He told the Portuguese resident it was a “beautiful sunny day” but “unfortunately the dream stopped because we heard a loud noise from the back of the sailboat and the whole ship started to shake”.
Later, he and three other sailors Roman, Corentin and Eliott, the boat’s captain and owner, realized that they were surrounded by five or six orcas that “snapped out”. Augustin said one of the animals was holding the rudder and “trying to shake it.” Knowing the protocol for such situations, the men initially decided not to seek help.
“We believed the attack was over and we could assess the damage. Maybe it wasn’t a big deal. We were close to shore because we had heard this recommended as orcas are more common in deeper waters. We felt we would be okay,” he said. in the interview.
They only realized the gravity of the situation when they heard a “crack” sound. They went to the bottom of the boat and saw a big hole where the water came in. “That’s when I realized maybe we wouldn’t be good.”
According to the Portuguese National Maritime Authority, a distress call was received on November 1 at 12:05 (local time). Immediately, officers from the Viana do Castelo Lifeguard Station went to the scene and on arrival determined that four crew members had been rescued by another ship nearby. Augustin and his colleagues did not need medical attention.
Watch the video of the attack below:
source: Noticias
