The Portuguese air force airlifted the family from a nearby fishing boat. Photo: ForçaAerea
What started off as an idyllic family outing turned into a dramatic ocean rescue on Friday. A family of five was left stranded in the middle of the ocean when their boat was attacked by a pod of orcas. Luckily, disaster was narrowly avoided.
As EuroWeekly reports, the family, which included three children aged eight, 10, and 12, had set sail aboard a 36-foot yacht from Lorient, France, on September 29. On October 10, they were off the coast of Portugal when the vessel was rammed by a pod of orcas. The attack caused severe damage and flooding. As the vessel went under, the family sent an SOS signal and evacuated in a life raft – leaving them stranded over 55 miles from land.
Luckily, a nearby fishing boat responded to the distress call and picked them up. From there, the Portuguese Air Force mobilized an EH-101 Merlin helicopter, which airlifted the quintet to shore, supported by a Navy frigate and a Peniche Port Authority lifeboat. Once there, they were taken to a hospital for evaluation, and found to have sustained no injuries.
The dramatic scene was just the latest in a long series of orca attacks on boats in the Strait of Gibraltar, and off the Portuguese, Moroccan and Galician coasts. Since 2020, orcas have regularly been observed removing rudders to disable vessels, and in some cases sinking vessels entirely.