Whale sends surfer flying through the air with a flick of its tail off bondi Beach

 
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Maxine Frith8 July 2013

A man is recovering after being knocked unconscious by a giant whale while surfing off Bondi Beach in Australia.

Dr Bishan Rajapakse, 38, said he spotted the whale “the size of a minibus” approaching him and the next thing he knew was waking up on the shore after being rescued by lifesavers.

The medic, who lives in Sydney, was taken to hospital and treated for head and shoulder injuries. Witnesses reported seeing his surf board being hurled three metres into the after he was hit by the mammal, believed to be a southern white whale.

Dr Rajapakse, a Sri Lankan born New Zealander, said: “I just remember this magnificent whale slowly coming to the right of me and coming for another look.

“I certainly thought it was like a little minibus size. I’ve seen a few whales in Bondi before, you know, just walking, but this was the biggest I’ve seen.

“Wwe were so close to it. It looked like an alien to us, you know, like one of those alien spacecraft or something. It was amazing.”

Whales are a common sight in the waters around Sydney at this time of year as they migrate north, but it is very rare for them to come so close to popular tourist beaches.

Other surfers were also thrown from their boards as the whale thrashed near them on Sunday morning. The mammal remaind in the waters off Bondi for another two hours before moving nort, escorted by a police boat and three jet skis.

Businessman Lachlan Harris said: “You just saw basically surfers, surfboards, swimmers thrown into the air like skittles, I’ve never seen anything like it.

“It was like they were soft toys getting thrown around the cot by a whale, and, you know, the whole beach sort of gasped basically.”

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