Photographs have revealed the frantic moment rescuers desperately tried to save a Canadian tourist who suffered fatal injuries when a breached whale hit her boat in Mexico.

Jennifer Karren, 35, passed away in hospital after the whale collided with her boat in the Sea of Cortez off Cabo San Lucas on Wednesday. Two other people aboard the boat were also injured.

The group had been returning from a snorkeling trip with 'Cabo Adventures' at around 11am when the whale hit the small vessel, tossing Karren into the water.

The captain and a tourist both jumped into the water and pulled her back to the boat.

Photographs released by the Federal Attorney for Environmental Protection on Thursday show people on the boat desperately trying to save the woman with CPR.

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Freak accident: An image shows a woman receiving CPR aboard a small boat after she was injured by a breaching grey whale near the beach resort of Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. The woman later died in hospital

Jennifer Karren (pictured with her husband Trevor Karren) had been returning from a snorkeling trip with 'Cabo Adventures' at around 11am when the whale hit the small vessel, tossing her into the water

Terrifying: The boat, pictured, collided with a grey whale, fatally injuring the woman and hurting two others

The boat company reported that the CPR was administered by another passenger, a nurse.

Mexican navy personnel responded to the scene and moved Karren, from Calgary, to shore and from there she was rushed to a nearby private hospital where she later died.

The two other people were said to have received 'considerable' injuries but are expected to survive, the company said.

In a statement, tour operator Cabo Adventures explained that the boat's captain, José Salazar Tendis, had to make a 'sudden maneuver' to try to avoid the whale directly in front of them, but the beast hit the side of the boat instead.

The captain immediately called the Naval Rescue, it said.

The boat was carrying nine tourists on a snorkel tour at the time, the company said.

Unknown danger: A California gray whale is pictured breaching in Magdalena Bay, Baja California Sur, Mexico (file photo). They can reach 49ft in length and weigh 36 tonnes and are often seen in Mexican waters

CBC News reported that Canadian consular officials in the area were assisting the woman's family.

A spokesman for the Department of Foreign Affairs said: 'Our thoughts are with the family and friends of a Canadian citizen who passed away in Mexico.'

Gray whales can reach 49ft in length and weigh 36 tonnes and are known to frequent Mexican waters, where they migrate annually between their feeding and breeding grounds.

Ahead of accident, Mexican authorities announced on Wednesday that the gray whale population in the area is unusually large this season, which runs from December to April.

Cabo Adventures runs multiple tour days, from snorkeling and scuba diving to whale watching and camel riding.