A man in his 30s was taken to hospital in a stable condition after he was slapped in the face by the tail of a whale in what first responders called an “extremely rare” encounter.
On Sunday morning, the man was out with a friend in a tinny off Tweed Heads when the whale tail rose from the sea and struck his head.
Queensland Ambulance Service Senior Paramedic Scott Brown said “You have a little bit of disbelief that it’s happened at first.”
The story is unpacked on today’s episode of The Briefing, ‘Cruising might be causing a climate crisis’:
“Just two guys having a morning fish and all of a sudden a whale’s tail appeared, striking one in the head,” he said.
While the man didn’t suffer serious injuries, he was knocked unconscious and can’t remember the incident.
Water police and paramedics approached the boat before assisting him back to mainland.
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