This is the incredible moment a rare albino Omura's whale swam alongside a tour boat in Thailand.

The elusive cetacean appeared on New Year's Day as holidaymakers were enjoying a boat trip off Coral Island near Phuket.

Footage shows the sea creature gliding under the clear blue waters as tourists marvelled at the sighting. It then surfaced briefly to spray water from its blowhole, delighting the onlookers.

Thon Thamrongnawasawat, a marine biologist and vice dean of the Faculty of Fisheries at Kasetsart University, said it was the first sighting of an albino whale in Thailand, and possibly the first time ever an albino Omura's whale has ever been seen.

He said: 'The normal Omura's whale is already rare as they are usually only found from Southeast Asia to Southern Japan. That makes the albino sighting even more exceptional.'

He added that Omura's whales were often mistaken for Bryde's whales, noting the former has a single prominent ridge on its rostrum while the latter has three.

Atthaphon Charoenchansa, director-general of the Department of National Parks, Wildlife, and Plant Conservation, said authorities were now searching for the rare whale at the Hat Nappharat Thara-Mu Ko Phi Phi National Park and its vicinity.

The creature has not yet made a reappearance.

The Omura's whale is a conserved species under Thailand's Wildlife Conservation and Protection Act. It typically ranges in size from 10 to 11.5 metres and weighs up to 20 tonnes when mature.

Omura's whales are mainly distributed across the Pacific Ocean. There have been reports of sightings in the Gulf of Thailand and the Andaman Sea.