Terrifying moment passengers watch on as whale lands on boat

Tourists watched on in horror after a boat that got too close to a humpback whale was crushed when the mammal breached from the water.

Horrified tourists watched on as a humpback whale breached and landed on a boat, injuring four passengers.

The incident, caught on camera, happened in Sinaloa, Mexico, with authorities blaming the boat operator because they got too close to the animals.

In the video, the large mammal leapt in the air to perform one of its characteristic acrobatic jumps at around 6pm, but instead of landing back in the water – the huge creature crashed into the back end of the small boat on its descent,

As a result, the collision almost caused the boat to capsize.

People watched on as the whale jumped on the boat.

The boat bobbed up after the whale clashed with it.

Two men and two women travelling on board and were injured and taken to hospital in nearby Los Mochis as a result of the incident. It is understood one of the men was seriously injured.

According to online newspaper Línea Directa Portal, one woman broke a leg while one of the men suffered fractured ribs and a head injury.

The boat was seriously damaged by the whale.

The whale landed on the boat, injuring four people.

Omar Mendoza Silva, the co-ordinator of Civil Protection in Ahome, believes the whale felt threatened with the proximity of the boat which ventured near the mammal despite the

port authority in Topolobampo ordering boat captains to keep a substantial distance away from the whales.

The whale landed on the boat in front of onlookers.

“Please do not get too close to the whales. We can enjoy their beauty, but at a distance, prudently,” mayor of Ahome, Gerardo Vargas, added.

While this is the first incident of its kind in the area, Topolobampo bay is well known for whale watching to see Pacific grey, humpback and blue whales migrate to Mexican territorial waters to breed from mid-December to the end of March.