A video captured a yacht being attacked and sunk by a pod of killer whales in the Strait of Gibraltar on Sunday morning, ABC News reported.
Spanish maritime authorities confirmed that an incident involving a nearly 50-foot yacht named The Alboran Cognac led to a rescue operation. The incident occurred 15 miles from Cabo Espartel, near Morocco, according to ABC News. The yacht was navigating when it was rammed by an undetermined number of orcas around 9 a.m. local time. The couple on board quickly contacted Spanish authorities, who dispatched a rescue team. The team successfully rescued the pair an hour after the attack, though the yacht sank and could not be saved.
Pod of killer whales attacks and sinks 50-foot yacht in Strait of Gibraltar https://t.co/NhXiCzbdYt
— Action News on 6abc (@6abc) May 14, 2024
This killer whale attack is part of a growing trend in the region, with around 700 similar incidents reported since 2020, according to the conservation group GT Orca Atlantica. Researchers have identified more than 37 orcas inhabiting the waters of the Strait of Gibraltar, a critical marine passage that connects the Atlantic Ocean to the Mediterranean Sea and separates Europe from Africa, the outlet stated.
Spanish government officials noted that since the summer and autumn of 2020, there have been numerous events between orcas and mainly sailboats in both the Strait and off the Galician coast. (RELATED: Orcas Strike Again, Sink Another Yacht)
“During the summer and autumn of 2020, interaction events began to occur between several specimens of this species and vessels, mainly sailboats, both in the Strait of Gibraltar and in the waters of the Galician coast,” Spanish government officials stated, according to ABC News. “These interactions have ranged from persistent approaches to ships, to ramming the hull and rudder, causing various types of damage, which continue today.”