It's believed a whale surfaced from beneath the fishing boat causing the vessel, which had 11 people aboard, to flip over. The group planned a three-hour bird watching expedition with Fish Kaikōura Charters, whose skipper had more than a decade's experience. Kaikōura Mayor Craig Mackle said the assumption was that a whale had surfaced from beneath the boat as there had been large whale sightings in the area. 'We have an upturned boat tipped over by a whale from what we can understand, come up from underneath,' Mr Mackle said. New Zealand's Transport Accident Investigation Commission are appealing for witnesses who were at Goose Bay at the time of the tragedy.

Source: Stuff September 12, 2022 06:56 UTC