Sperm whale sank a sailing boat in the Pacific Ocean

En segelbåt har sjunkit i Stilla havet efter att en kaskelotval slagit hål i skrovet på båten.

The sailing boat was about 250 nautical miles north of the small island of Norfolk, east of Australia, when the crew felt “a heavy blow”.

“The whole boat was jolted sideways,” says Australian Jemma Cooper, who was thrown from the helm by the force of the impact.

“We looked over to port and saw six to eight whales. That’s when we realised what had happened.”

Shortly afterwards, the crew sent out a distress signal whilst trying to bail water out of the boat. Eventually, they decided to climb into a liferaft and abandon the boat, which sank shortly afterwards.

The crew were rescued when a cargo ship approached and lowered a ladder into the water, around 18 hours after the encounter with the whale.

^{Cover image: Archive photo of a sperm whale.}