A breaching whale crashed into a boat off the New Hampshire shore Tuesday, capsizing the vessel and sending two fishermen into the water.
Video captured by 16-year-old Colin Yanger from a nearby boat shows the moment the humpback whale suddenly jumped out of the water and fell straight down on the 23-foot boat. Yanger, happened to be recording after seeing the whale breach a few times prior, then helped the two fishermen out of the water with the help of his brother, he told TV station WMUR.
Avid fisherman Ryland Kenney told the Washington Post he had taken photos of the exact whale in that area recently but that he had no worries about a close encounter when he set out that Tuesday with his friend, Greg Paquette.
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After spotting the whale, however, the pair said they maintained at least a 50-foot distance from the mammal, but then it started swimming below their boat, he told the Post.
Then, while Paquette’s back was turned to the rear, Kenney watched as the whale came out of the water with his mouth “wide open” before closing down on what the fisherman told the Post he believed was the engine.
Kenney promptly jumped from the boat into the 55-degree water, but Paquette, who had on a life jacket, was thrown, forcing him to swim before the boat fell on him, the Post reported.
Neither of the men nor the whale were injured in the incident, and the vessel has been salvaged, the U.S. Coast Guard said. The agency thanked the “good samaritans” for their quick action in rescuing the fishermen and urged the public to report spotted whales to their local USCG command center.
