A kayaker in southern Chile experienced a near-death encounter when he was briefly swallowed by a humpback whale, only to be spat out unharmed in an astonishing escape, all of which was captured on video.
Adrian Simancas, 24, was kayaking off the coast of Punta Arenas in Patagonia on Saturday when the massive whale surged out of the water and engulfed him and his bright yellow kayak. After a tense five seconds, Simancas emerged from the water, stunned but unharmed, with the whale’s dorsal fin visible as it swam away.
“I thought he’d swallowed me!” Simancas exclaimed, still shaken by the experience.
The entire extraordinary event was caught on camera by Simancas’ father, Dell, who can be heard in the footage shouting, “Relax! Relax!” as he tried to calm his son, who was understandably shaken. “Grab it, grab it,” the father urged, instructing his son to hold onto the kayak while the whale continued swimming behind him.
In an interview with Chile’s TVN channel, Simancas described the moment, saying, “I saw something blue and white passing close to my face, and it was like on one side and above me. I didn’t understand what was happening and then I sank. I thought it had eaten me.”
His father, who had initially panicked when he didn’t see his son for a few seconds, later recalled, “That was the only moment of fear I really had. Suddenly, Adrian shot out.”
Marine experts clarified that the whale could not have swallowed Simancas, as humpback whales have small throats. According to marine biologist Maria Jose Perez of the University of Chile, the kayaker was likely in the whale’s feeding area, which is usually populated with krill or small fish. “The whale probably didn’t notice the small boat, which is why it emerged sideways with its mouth open,” Perez explained.
Such encounters are rare, typically occurring in the presence of quiet vessels like kayaks, where the large animals may not detect them in time.
