Minke whale dies in Barnegat Bay after throwing boat passenger overboard

🔴 Video shows a minke whale swim under a boat in Barnegat Bay

🔴 The dead whale's carcass later washed up on a sandbar

🔴 A necropsy is being conducted on Monday

Marine officials are towing the carcass of a minke whale after a shocking collision in a Jersey Shore bay over the weekend.

Video posted on social media showed a passenger being thrown from a boat during the incident in the Barnegat Bay on Saturday afternoon. Scroll down to see the dramatic encounter.

Minke whale swims into shallow Barnegat Bay waters

According to the Marine Mammal Stranding Center, the 20-foot-long minke whale was first spotted around 2:45 p.m. in the bay near the inlet by Barnegat Light.

The bay is relatively shallow with an average depth of 1.6 meters, or five feet, according to the state Department of Environmental Protection.

Less than an hour later, a boater called to report that a boat had struck the whale.

The motorboat nearly capsized and a passenger was thrown overboard into the water.

Minke whale struggles after boat strike

Video showed the whale flailing in the bay after the collision. It's unclear if the mammal was injured by the strike or struggling due to the shallow waters.

Soon after, a Sea Tow vessel reported that the whale had died.

Its carcass ended up on a sandbar just outside the channel, according to the MMSC.

A New Jersey Fish and Wildlife Conservation boat tried to approach the carcass to examine it, but the officers were unable to get closer than 30 yards due to tidal conditions.

On Sunday, Jay Pagel, an MMSC coordinator, said to the Associated Press that they didn't have a lot of immediate information.

“The side of the animal that we were able to observe had no obvious marks on it that we could see. But again, our visibility was very limited," Pagel said.

Officials said the whale will be towed on Monday with help from Sea Tow.

After it is towed, the MMSC Stranding Team will conduct a necropsy to figure out how the minke whale died.

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