New Jersey firefighters abandoned ship over the weekend after their boat was struck by a breaching whale, causing the vessel to sink.
The Carteret Fire Department unit, part of a marine security detail, was returning from the New York City area at around 4:30 p.m. Saturday when the collision occurred, department officials said on social media.
“We were doing about maybe seven or eight knots, and all of a sudden, there was this loud bang. I opened up the engine hatch and looked below, and to my surprise, there was a big hole in the back wall of the boat, and seawater was pouring into it at a quick pace,” Carteret Fire Chief Eric Wahl told ABC News.
Hence, the firefighters abandoned ship. No one on board was injured, though fire officials did not say if the whale was hurt.
A person with a jet ski, another boater and a marine unit from the nearby Perth Amboy Fire Department fished the firefighters, all of whom were wearing life jackets, out of the water, Carteret fire officials said.
The officials said a recreational boat in the area reported seeing a pod of whales breaching, or surfacing, but did not specify on social media what type of whale was involved in the sinking or how large it was.
The whale is believed to have been a humpback whale, according to ABC News.
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