Fisherman knocked unconscious by whale in 'extremely rare' encounter off Aussie coast
A Queensland fisherman is lucky to be alive after being slapped in the face by a whale's tail on the NSW border on Sunday.
An Aussie man is recovering in hospital after he was brutally slapped in the face by whale's tail and knocked unconscious during a fishing trip on Sunday. First responders branded the ordeal "extremely rare", saying the fisherman was lucky to have escaped with his life after the freak accident.
The man, aged 40, was fishing with his friend in their tinnie about a kilometre from the Tweed Heads bar, on the NSW-Queensland border, when the animal breached the surface at about 9am yesterday.
The immense force nearly capsized the boat, with multiple witnesses in the water nearby left in complete shock by the scary moment.
'Incredible' scenes leave witnesses stunned
The man suffered facial injuries and though he was able remain on the dinghy, he was reportedly knocked unconscious and left with welt marks across his face. A family on jet skis and another man on a nearby boat came to the pair's aid, describing the scene as "incredible".
"It'd be like getting hit by Mike Tyson... just pounded, it would have been an incredible force," witness Adam Bell told 7News. "His face had some slime on it and you could see a big welt mark, and his eyes were a bit puffed. The tail's just cracked him, cracked him in the jaw."
Another man, Brady Bell, said he "sprang into action" after witnessing the unbelievable event, notifying emergency crews who eventually towed the tinnie into shore.
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'Extremely rare' to be slapped in the face by a whale, paramedic says
Queensland Ambulance Service's (QAS) Scott Brown, who was among the first on the scene, said the ordeal was exceptionally rare.
"Just two guys having a morning fish, and then all of a sudden, a whale's tail appeared, striking one in the head," Brown told media. "We've had boats come in contact with whales before, but not actually a person sitting in a boat.
"You have a little bit of disbelief that it happened at first, but respond nonetheless, and when we got there, that's what we found had happened."
The man is understood to be in a stable condition in Gold Coast University Hospital with superficial face wounds. He's expected to make a full recovery.
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