Five rescued after orcas attack tourist boat

WorldEnvironment
16 Sep 2025 • 10:01 PM MYT
The Independent
The Independent

The world’s most free-thinking newspaper

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  • A tourist yacht carrying five people sank off the coast of Portugal after being rammed by a pod of orcas.
  • The incident occurred near Fonte da Telha beach on Saturday, 13 September, with all five crew members rescued without injury.
  • Footage shared by Mercedes-Benz Oceanic Lounge showed an orca repeatedly striking the vessel before it began to sink.
  • A second orca encounter was reported later the same day off the Bay of Cascais, where four people were safely removed from their boat.
  • This event adds to hundreds of documented incidents of orcas ramming boats near the Iberian peninsula since May 2020, prompting research into the behavioural trend.

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