(TAN): A 29-year-old woman had to be airlifted to Perth for treatment on Aug. 3 after she was struck by a whale in the Ningaloo reef off Australia’s northwestern coast, reports said.
The tourist was snorkeling in the World Heritage site in the Indian Ocean when the incident happened. She was apparently struck by the whale’s tail.
Media reports quoted a St John Ambulance spokesperson as saying that the woman suffered “chest injuries” and that she was in a “serious but stable condition” after “being hit by a whale’s tail”.
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Ningaloo reef is frequented by humpback whales and whale sharks, the world’s largest fish. It is also home to a large variety of fish, sponges and other aquatic life.
Some other reports said the tourist was hit by a whale shark, and not a whale.
While the average whale shark is around 10 metres in length, humpback whales are usually around 15 metres long.
