Tourists rescued after orcas attack 2 sailboats off Portuguese coast
FILE-An Orca is spotted off Wrangell Island in Southeast Alaska. (Photo by Wolfgang Kaehler/LightRocket via Getty Images)
Orcas attacked two sailboats last weekend, resulting in the rescue of tourists off the coast of Portugal, near Lisbon.
Five people were rescued from a tourist vessel that was sailing off Fonte da Telha beach after the orcas attacked, according to the Portugal National Maritime Authority’s official Facebook page.
RELATED: Watch: Fishing group witnesses orca attack, leaving otter pup orphaned
In a social media post, officials reported that another four people were found safe after a similar orca attack farther north along Portugal's western coast, off the Bay of Cascais.
Search and rescue crews responded to the Sept. 13 incidents and were able to get the people to get the tourists to safety, and there were no injuries in the two orca attacks.
An Instagram video shared by the sailing company Mercedes-Benz Oceanic Lounge reportedly captured the orca incident.
Have there been other orca attacks?
Dig deeper:
Multiple orca attacks have taken place in the past few years, with the latest in June 2023, when the crew of a Dutch team competing in a global yacht sailing challenge witnessed an orca pod attack their boat.
The killer whale was spotted circling Team JAJO's boat skippered by Jelmer van Beek, eventually aiming for the rudder, before others joined the attack, FOX 2 San Francisco reported.
RELATED: Killer whales are attacking, sinking boats and scientists are unsure why
Months later in Sept. 2023, an orphaned sea otter was rescued by a fishing group after its mother was attacked by a pod of orcas in Alaska.
And in May 2024, an unknown number of orcas rammed a sailing yacht in Moroccan waters in the Strait of Gibraltar, causing it to sink. FOX News reported crew members aboard the 50-foot-long Alboran Cognac called rescue services for help, saying that their ship had been damaged by orcas about 14 miles from Cape Spartel, which is located at the southern entrance to the Strait of Gibraltar.
The Source: Information for this story was provided by Portugal National Maritime Authority’s official Facebook page and an Instagram video from the Mercedes-Benz Oceanic Lounge, which reportedly captured the incident, previous LIVENOW from FOX reporting. FOX 2 San Francisco, and FOX News. This story was reported from Washington, D.C.