Family-of-five cheat death as orcas sink Portugal tourist boat in horror attack after SOS call

The Portuguese Air Force rushed to rescue a family-of-five - including three children - after their yacht was sunk in a terrifying orca attack.

A military helicopter was scrambled late on Friday to winch the family from a fishing vessel that had rescued them after their yacht was rammed by a pod of orcas and began taking on water, over 55 miles south-east of Peniche. The family was transported to hospital, but luckily escaped injury. The yacht, a French-flagged 36ft vessel named Ti’fare, carried the three children, aged eight, 10 and 12, along with their parents, when it was attacked.

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A spokesperson said: “During the night of October 10, the Air Force's EH-101 Merlin helicopter was called into action to rescue five people who were on board a boat sailing more than 50 km from Peniche.

“The sailboat, carrying a couple and their three children, was attacked by a group of killer whales, which damaged the vessel, causing it to take on water. After the incident, the five people abandoned the vessel using a life raft and were later picked up by a fishing boat that was in the vicinity.

“To support the rescue mission, the Air Force activated the EH-101 Merlin helicopter from Squadron 751 - ‘Pumas’, which took off from Air Base Number Six in Montijo at 8.45pm on Friday.

“Once the rescue was successfully completed, the Air Force helicopter returned to BA6 at around 11pm.

"The rescue mission was activated by the Air Force's Lisbon Search and Rescue Coordination Centre, following a request for activation from the coordinating entity, the Portuguese Navy's Lisbon Maritime Search and Rescue Centre.”

The adults on board managed to send an SOS and get into a life raft before their vessel - reportedly left with a breached hull after being rammed by orcas - began sinking.

A Peniche-based fishing boat, Silmar, responded to the alert while the military were mobilised. Footage released by the Portuguese Air Force shows the moment the family were airlifted onto a chopper from Silmar and taken away for a medical check-up.

In addition to the Air Force helicopter, a Navy frigate and a lifeboat from the Peniche Port Authority were also deployed.

The family had reportedly departed Lorient in Brittany, France, on September 29, making stops in La Coruna, Galicia and the Portuguese city of Porto before travelling further south. They are now receiving support from French consular officials after being allowed to leave hospital.

Last month, a pod of orcas sank another yacht carrying five people, including a British national, near Fonte da Telha beach, just south of Lisbon. Footage showed an orca repeatedly striking the Oceanview sailboat, which belonged to the Nautic Squad Club, before it disappeared under the water; the crew were rescued, but the vessel could not be saved.

Last month, a pod of orcas sunk a yacht carrying five people including a British national near Fonte da Telha beach just south of Lisbon. Footage showed an orca repeatedly striking the Oceanview sailboat which belonged to the Nautic Squad Club and it disappearing under the water before it could be saved after the crew were rescued.

On the same day, the pod attacked another nearby boat, Nova Vida. Norwegian sailors on board said after the attack they were able to save the vessel by installing an emergency rudder and prying it enough to return to Cascais, 10 nautical miles away.

Between 2020 and 2023, there were reportedly around 500 orca attacks. No humans have been injured, but 20 per cent of targetted vessels were damaged and several were lost.

Although incidents have occurred in the Gibraltar Straits, over the past few weeks the area north and south of Lisbon has been in the news over orca attacks.

Up until Saturday, Portugal’s Maritime Authority said 61 warnings had been issued to sailors about interactions with orcas off the country’s coast, compared with just 45 throughout last year.