A New Jersey fire department rescue boat sank after being struck by a breaching whale while returning from a marine security assignment tied to Fourth of July festivities in New York Harbor, forcing firefighters to abandon the vessel before it slipped beneath the water.

A New Jersey fire rescue boat was sunk in a “harrowing” freak accident involving a whale, sending the whole crew overboard and in need of rescue themselves while the vessel was returning from New York Harbor’s Fourth of July celebrations.

The humpback whales breaching off Alaska’s Inside Passage in July are the same animals fluking through Banderas Bay by December. They travel roughly 3,000 miles each way, feeding in Alaska’s

Giant humpback whales created a stunning ocean moment off the coast of Maui as they blew bubbles near the surface before one launched into a sideways breach. The footage captures the power and size of the whales as the water erupts around them.