A fisherman was left unconscious and seriously injured after being hit by a whale’s tail at sea.
The man, aged in his 30s, was hit in the face in an “extremely rare” encounter with the mammal about 1km from Fingal Head, near the New South Wales-Queensland border, on Sunday morning.
He was unconscious but managed to stay in the boat.
The man’s fishing companion and some passing motorcyclists raised the alarm about the unfolding emergency.
Maritime rescue teams, water police and paramedics traveled by sea to rescue the fisherman and bring him back to dry land.
He was rushed to Gold Coast University Hospital in a stable condition with injuries to his spine and face.
Scott Brown, a senior paramedic with the Queensland Ambulance Service, said he had never seen a whale interact with a fisherman on an idling boat.
“At first you’re a little bit in disbelief at what’s happened,” Brown told reporters.
A man in his 30s was left unconscious after being hit by a whale’s tail while fishing off the coast of Tweed Heads Bar.
‘There were two boys who were fishing in the morning and suddenly a whale’s tail appeared and hit one of them on the head.
‘One, getting so close to a whale and two, having the whale’s tail touch you while you’re in the boat; it’s extremely rare.’
Rescuers managed to catch the unconscious fisherman by triangulating the location of his fellow boater’s triple-0 call.
Mr Brown added that the man was “very lucky” not to have suffered more serious injuries.
Volunteer marine rescue workers met the couple at sea and helped emergency services steer the boat back to shore.
There were fears that moving the man could cause further injuries as rescuers were unsure whether he had suffered neck injuries.
When the man regained consciousness, he was “sorrowful and remorseful.”
“I couldn’t believe what happened. I didn’t really remember everything that had happened, but I was okay.”
Another man who was in the same can as the man called triple 0 and the man was rushed to the University of Gold Coast in a stable condition with injuries to his face and spine.
John Murray from Marine Rescue NSW He told 9News that in his 22 years of service he had never encountered a case like this.
“It’s extraordinary,” he said.
“I’ve never heard of a whale coming into contact with anyone on a stationary boat.”
(tags to translate)dailymail
