British man loses sailboat after killer whale attack off Moroccan coast

“They seemed to know exactly what they were doing. It was a coordinated attack,” said Paul, 59, who was travelling with two others from Portugal to Greece. After the initial shock, he thought he had hit a rock, but it soon turned out to be a killer whale.

Read also: Orca attacks terrify fishermen in Tangier and Asilah

Five killer whales circled the boat, targeting the rudder and disabling it. Then they began attacking the boat. “They were circling,” Powell said. “It was like watching wolves hunt.” The killer whales took turns hitting the boat. “I didn’t feel like playing games, they knew exactly what they were doing. They knew the weak points in the boat and knew how to sink it. It was terrifying.”

An hour and a half after the attack, the boat began to take on water. Fortunately, Paul and his companions were rescued in time by the Spanish Coast Guard, after being alerted by distress signals.

Read also: Orca attacks in the Strait of Gibraltar: The mystery finally solved?

Killer whale attacks are becoming increasingly common in the Strait of Gibraltar. Researchers suspect that a pod of fifteen killer whales, led by a female, White Gladys, is responsible for these incidents, which have been reported since 2020.