Fishermen knocked unconscious by whale
A whale has slammed into a charter boat in the Whitsundays, knocking two fishermen unconscious.
The RACQ CQ Helicopter was called to rescue four men after the incident on Saturday, off the coast of Bowen, with one man suffering a deep head laceration.
A-One Fishing Charters captain Oliver Galea told the Townsville Bulletin in "a split second" everyone was on the ground.
Mr Galea, 44, was taken to Proserpine Hospital where he received eight stitches to the gaping cut.
A whale has slammed into a charter boat in the Witsundays knocking two fishermen unconscious. Photo: AP
Zambian tourist Mark Young, 48, was in a stable condition on Sunday afternoon at the Proserpine Hospital, while Greg Wilson, 31, was discharged earlier in the morning.
No one knew the cause of the impact until they spotted the whale moving away from the boat.
“I’ve hit my head on the front rail," he told the publication.
“Mark, the man next to me, was unconscious.
"It all happened so fast, it was a freak accident."
The collision left a dent in the boat and knocked out one of the engines.
