Kayak duo hit by whale: ‘It felt like a bus landing on us’

Two British holidaymakers have told of the moment they narrowly escaped death when a 40-ton humpback whale crash-landed on their kayak.

Tom Mustill and Charlotte Kinloch were paddling off Monterey Bay in California when the whale suddenly breached and dragged them under water.

Onlookers feared the worst as the pair disappeared from view. Yet, remarkably, they were left without a scratch and the only damage was a small dent to the kayak’s bow. The extraordinary incident was captured on film by a passenger on a whale-watching boat.

Speaking to the Telegraph, Ms Kinloch, 30, described the moment the whale hit as “terrifying” and likened it to a building falling on them.

“It felt like being in an avalanche, like a bus landing on us,” she said.

See The Telegraph