This is the terrifying moment a lone sailor is stranded on his yacht when a pod of five killer whales circled around him.
Phep Philouceros was forced to send out a Mayday distress call while he he sailed just off the coast of Cape St. Vincent in Portugal on Monday (August 7).
In a terrifying attack, part of which Phep caught on video, two of the huge marine mammals started attacking his boat.
READ MORE: Killer whales are learning to ram boats from older orcas in terrifying 'game'
One can been seen "stalking" the 30-foot vessel and attacking the rudder, which was destroyed "in one minute", forcing Phep to send out the Mayday.
The 70-year-old said he also heard the hull of the boat crack but didn't noticed any water coming in.
Experienced navigator Phep was sailing 400 metres south of Cape St. Vincent in around 25 metres of water.
Sailors have been advised to stick in shallow water of 20 metres or less in depth to avoid attack by orca.
Within 15 minutes of the incident a rescue boat had reached his location but even then the attack didn't stop.
For 30 minutes the orcas continued to attack even as Phep's twin-keel boat called Oxygene was being towed back to the shore.
Phep, who is retired, said: "I use an app called Orca Atlantica which lists orca encounters in the area and I also listen to what local authorities are advising.
"After leaving Lagos and before reaching Cape St. Vincent, I stopped in Sagres to check the latest news on the app.
"There hadn't been any sightings of orcas that day so I went ahead but unfortunately I wasn't lucky."
By the time Phep spotted orcas near his sailboat, it was already too late.
Many sailors use acoustic underwater "pingers" or set of firecrackers to scare off the animals.
He said: "People don't realise how quickly these things happen.
"I didn't have time to use a pinger to make noise or fireworks."
Phep said he tried to stop his engine or reverse in an attempt stop the attack, but neither worked.
He said: "The rudder was destroyed in one minute and pulled out. They also rammed blows on the twin keels of the boat
"In total there were five orcas but only two attacked the boat.
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"I think there were young orcas. They were about six or seven meters long. They were neither adults or babies."
Phep has 55 years of sailing experience and says this is the first time an orca has ever attacked a boat he was on.
Earlier this year scientists said they believed that orcas in the Mediterranean area had 'learned' to attack boats.
There have been a spate of attacks including sinkings attributed to orcas this year.
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