March 11, 2007 — It's a whale of a tale. Literally.
In fact, a group of three divers including Thornton had drifted directly above a 40-ton mother whale and her eight-ton baby, which was sleeping on her back.
From his hospital bed, Thornton explained what happened next.
"They both came up under us. The calf got spooked, spooked the mother," he said. "The mother flipped and threw the group every which way but loose."
The force was so intense, a videotape recording of the accident shows the actual impact and snapping of Thornton's femur, or thigh bone. You can hear a loud pop when his leg is broken.
Videotape
http://abcnews.go.com/US/Science/story? ... 052&page=1
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