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A tourist yacht sank after being rammed by a pod of orcas off the coast of Portugal<\/a>. <\/p>\n The boat<\/a>, carrying five people, was submerged near Fonte da Telha beach following the attack<\/a> on Saturday.<\/p>\n Footage shared by sailing company Mercedes-Benz Oceanic Lounge<\/a> shows an orca<\/a> repeatedly striking the side of the yacht before it sways and starts to sink, with a witness heard saying \u201cOh my God.\u201d<\/p>\n All five crew members were rescued from the Nautic Squad club vessel by boats shortly before it sank.<\/p>\n A second encounter with the pod was recorded later the same day off the Bay of Cascais, with four people removed from their boat without injuries.<\/p>\n Portugal\u2019s National Maritime Authority said that it received an alert at 12.30pm \u201cdue to an interaction with orcas\u201d.<\/p>\n It added: \u201cCrews from the lifeguard station of Cascais and the Captaincy of the Port of Lisbon were immediately activated.<\/p>\n \u201cUpon arrival at the site, it was found that the crew were physically well, without the need of medical assistance, having been removed with the help of a sea-tourist boat nearby.\u201d<\/p>\n Some witnesses said they saw four orcas, although a skipper reported that just one of the whales had struck the rudder, according to The Telegraph<\/a>.<\/p>\n Since May 2020, researchers have documented hundreds of incidents of orcas ramming into boats near the Iberian peninsula, sparking several theories and research into the rise in the behavioural trend.<\/p>\n The incident follows a new warning after two boats were attacked <\/a>by a pair of killer whales off the coast of Spain earlier this month.<\/p>\n A Spanish maritime rescue ship was called after the boats were rammed by orcas just minutes apart in the waters of Galicia.<\/p>\n Rescuers towed an orca-damaged ship back into the harbour before they were alerted to another attack.<\/p>\n A crew member said: \u201cThe truth is that we were very scared; we were actually really \u2018scared\u2019 when we realised that the killer whales were hitting the boat.\u201d<\/p>\n Read more: British tourist faces \u00a3174k fine for flying drone over Spanish festival<\/a><\/p>\n