Several injured after whale collides with boat off coast of Alaska

Several members of a family of four were injured Saturday after their boat collided with a humpback whale off the coast of Alaska, near Juneau.

The family was aboard a 22-foot aluminum skiff when the whale surfaced suddenly, according to National Oceanic and Atmosphere Administration Fisheries.

“The whale surfaced in front of the operator and he tried to avoid it,” Travis Mead, assistant chief of Capital City Fire/Rescue, told the Anchorage Daily News.

The operator of the boat was able to steer the boat back to the shore and radio for help. The three injured people were taken to the hospital by ambulance after docking, Mead said.

Two were discharged within a few hours but the other was medivaced to Seattle, more than 1,000 miles away, for treatment, Katie Bausler, communications director for Bartlett Regional Hospital in Juneau, told the Anchorage Daily News.

NOAA Fisheries said there had not been any reports of dead or injured whales since the boat crash.

Humpback whales, a federally protected species, migrate from around Hawaii and Baja California up into Alaska during the summer.

Whale collisions with boats are common enough and can be fatal for the animals, according to Mandy Keogh, the marine mammal stranding coordinator with NOAA Fisheries.

NOAA recommends whale watchers and recreational boaters limit their time around whales to about 30 minutes, travel slowly andbe careful in areas where others are whale watching since a whale can surface anytime.