'It's coming right at us!' Three friends get the fright of their lives when pod of killer whales swim straight towards their tiny rowing boat

  • The group were on a crabbing trip near Anderson Island, Washington
  • They video two killer whales jumping from water at a safe distance
  • Suddenly the pod get closer and swim underneath the small boat
  • Video maker and friends panic and begin rowing back to shore  

Three friends got the fright of their life when they were confronted by a pod of baby killer whales while on a crabbing trip.

Steven Sloan, joined by friends Michael Niccum and Eugene Dight were on an aluminium rowboat when the encounter occurred off the west coast of Anderson Island, Washington.

Filming from the boat, Steven captured the orcas swimming from afar – two of them can be seen jumping from the water.

At a safe distance: The group cheer in excitment as Steven captures two orcas swimming and jumping from the water

At a safe distance: The group cheer in excitment as Steven captures two orcas swimming and jumping from the water

The group on the boat cheer and yell in excitement at what they are witnessing as the whales appear to start moving closer to the boat.

According to Steven, the group believe that the rope being pulled along the side of the boat is what attracted the pod to them, as its distinctive sound disturbed the whales.

Commenting on their approach, one of the group can be heard saying: ‘They’re probably coming to check us out.’

The group believe that the sound of the rope being pulled along the side of the boat is what attracted the orcas

The group believe that the sound of the rope being pulled along the side of the boat is what attracted the orcas

One of the group states that the orca is probably coming to check them out before it emerges from the water and gives them all a fright

One of the group states that the orca is probably coming to check them out before it emerges from the water and gives them all a fright

Before later adding: ‘That is like 50 yards from us,’ as the marine mammals continue to head in the direction of their boat.

After suggesting that it might be a good idea to start rowing away, one of the group begins panicking and shouts: ‘Guys we need to get out of here, it’s coming right at us.’

He then states: ‘We need to sit down in the boat. We need to get out of here. It is probably under us. This is really dangerous, I’m scared.’

'We need to get out of here':The group panic as a killer whales approach their aluminium boat

'We need to get out of here':The group panic as a killer whales approach their aluminium boat

The killer whales are videoed circling and swimming dangerously close to  the tiny boat

The killer whales are videoed circling and swimming dangerously close to the tiny boat

Suddenly an orca emerges from the water right beside the boat and the panicked member of the group screams in shock.

Meanwhile the killer whales begin circling and swimming dangerously close to and underneath the tiny boat.

Slightly less shocked now that the whale has made a relatively tame introduction, the group laugh nervously and begin heading back to shore.

The group jokingly plead with the killer whales as the marine mammals continue to swim around the boat

The group jokingly plead with the killer whales as the marine mammals continue to swim around the boat

The video maker captures a killer whale swimming underneath the aluminium boat in Washington

The video maker captures a killer whale swimming underneath the aluminium boat in Washington

On the way back they jokingly plead with the orcas, and one of them says: ‘Please don’t attack us.’

Referring to the incident on the original upload of the video, Steven wrote: ‘Feel free to laugh at how I respond to a scary situation like this and enjoy the beautiful orcas at the beautiful Anderson Island.’