A kayaker off Chilean Patagonia experienced a close call with death when a huge humpback whale swallowed him whole for a short while before releasing him. The perilous moment was filmed and has since become an internet sensation, leaving watchers speechless.
Whale emerges beneath kayaker
The kayaker, Adrian Simancas, was paddling with his father, Dell, in Bahia El Aguila, off the Strait of Magellan, when the surprise meeting happened. The giant whale appeared from beneath him, swallowing him and his yellow kayak for a few heart-pounding seconds, according to The Associated Press.
Father captures the moment
While Adrian went missing beneath the surface, his dad, who was merely a few feet away, was able to capture the frightening moment on tape.
"Stay calm, stay calm," Dell coached his son as the whale let him go unscathed seconds later.
'I thought I was dead'
Describing the frightening encounter, Adrian recounted to The Associated Press: "I thought I was dead. I thought it had eaten me, that it had swallowed me. When I came up and started floating, I was scared that something might happen to my father too—that we wouldn’t reach the shore in time, or that I would get hypothermia."
A lucky escape
Following a few minutes in the water, Adrian swam to his dad's kayak and was quickly assisted aboard. Despite the obvious shock, father and son returned safely to shore. The unusual and haunting encounter is a poignant reminder of the unpredictable ways of sea creatures, and viewers can only stand agog at the raw power of the ocean.
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