Surfer knocked out by whale off Bondi beach

A man surfing off Bondi beach in Sydney was knocked unconscious after he collided with a huge whale.

Bishan Rajapakse explained he was 30 metres off the beach surfing with friends when the whale appeared. He told reporters that he saw the mammal approach and the next thing he knew he was waking up on the sand.

He said: "I just remember this magnificent whale slowly coming to the right of me and coming for another look.

"I just kind of felt like talking to it like a dog or an animal, and say 'hey', that was it. Maybe it was giving me 'high five', I don't know."

Fellow surfers and lifeguards dragged him to safety and Mr Rajapakse was taken to the local hospital to be treated for shoulder and head injuries.

Businessman Lachlan Harris, who saw the incident from the beach, said: "You just saw basically surfers, surfboards, swimmers thrown into the air like skittles, I've never seen anything like it."