Two British tourists have told of the moment they escaped a near-fatal incident, when a 40-tonne humpback whale crash-landed on their kayak.
Charlotte Kinloch and Tom Mustill were both paddling in their small vessel off California's Monterey Bay when the whale suddenly emerged from beneath the sea, landing right by them, and dragging them and their vessel under water.
Remarkably the shaken pair were left unharmed, their kayak only suffering a small dent to its bow. The incredible moment was reportedly captured on film by a passenger on another whale-watching boat.
Kinloch, 30, described the moment the whale hit as “terrifying” and told The Telegraph it was like a building falling on her.
“It felt like being in an avalanche, like a bus landing on us,” she said to the paper.
The pair pictured, far right
The whale breaches
It jumps, pictured mid-air
Before coming crashing down on the two kayakers
Mustill also recalled the encounter, commenting: "I remember coming to the surface and thinking, ‘How am I not dead? Maybe I’ve got lots of injuries but I’m in shock and can’t feel them,’”
“Then I saw Charlotte and thought, ‘How is she not dead?’”
The pair, who are both from London, were heading back to shore in their kayak after three-hours in the water.