Orcas sink sailing yacht off Portugal: Family rescued

"Incidents involving orcas are increasing off the coast of Portugal. Now a group of animals has caused a leak in the hull of a sailing yacht. The occupants were able to escape to safety on a life raft.

 

Orcas have sunk a French sailboat with a family of five on board off the coast of Portugal. The incident occurred about 45 nautical miles (almost 84 kilometers) off the coast of Peniche, as the newspaper "Correio da Manhã" and other Portuguese media reported, citing authorities.

 

The eleven-meter-long yacht "Ti'fare" sank, but the occupants, a French-Portuguese couple and their three daughters aged eight, ten, and twelve, escaped with a fright and were unharmed, it was reported.

 

The family, which, according to Correio da Manhã, began their journey on September 29th in the French city of Lorient, was able to radio the Maritime Rescue Center in Lisbon and board a life raft. A fishing boat picked them up, then they were taken by air force helicopter to the Montijo military base and later transferred to a hospital.

The animals caused a leak in the boat's hull

 

The French family's tragedy occurred on Friday evening but only became known over the weekend. The animals, also called killer whales, reportedly caused a leak in the boat's hull, which, after being damaged, filled with water and quickly sank.

 

In recent years, incidents involving orcas in the Mediterranean off the southern coast of Spain and in the Strait of Gibraltar have attracted particular attention. This year, however, reports from Portugal are increasing. Most recently, orcas sank a sailing yacht off the Caparica coast, not far from Lisbon, just a month ago, on September 13th.

 

According to the Portuguese Maritime Authority, 61 reports of orca encounters have already been issued off the country's coast this year. Most experts do not believe that these highly intelligent animals from the dolphin family are deliberately aggressing. They therefore reject the term "attacks" and speak of "interactions" or encounters. However, the causes of this unusual behavior, which has only been increasingly recorded since 2020, are still being investigated.”