Watch: Humpback whale swallows kayaker in Chilean waters

A Chilean kayaker was briefly swallowed by a humpback whale but emerges safely.

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A Chilean man had a life-altering scare when he briefly found himself in the mouth of a humpback whale while kayaking off Chilean Patagonia.

The incident, which occurred on Saturday in the Strait of Magellan, was captured on video by Adrián Simancas' father, Dell, who was recording the kayaking excursion.

As the family enjoyed the outing, the whale suddenly emerged, and Simancas and his kayak disappeared beneath the water. The moment quickly went viral after the video was shared. Moments later, Simancas resurfaced, with both he and his kayak emerging safely from the water.

In the video, Simancas’ father can be heard urgently shouting, “Grab the boat!” As Simancas grabbed his kayak and swam toward his father, he recalled his terrifying thoughts: “Yes, I thought it already had eaten me and swallowed me,” Simancas shared in a video with the Associated Press. “But of course, I thought maybe it was a killer whale. We had been talking about orcas shortly before, so I had that in my head.”

The whale resurfaced just a few feet away from Simancas, increasing his fear, as he worried about the whale harming his father and the cold water potentially leading to hypothermia. Fortunately, both men made it safely to shore.

Reflecting on the experience, Simancas said, “When I got out I understood that, of course, it was probably out of curiosity that the whale had approached me or maybe to communicate something.” He continued, “Yes, at first when I thought I had died, it was like, of course, a lot of terror. Because I thought no, no, there was nothing I could do.”

Wildlife scientist Vanessa Pirotta offered some insight into the whale’s behavior. Speaking to CNN, she explained that the whale was likely “lunge fishing” for krill or fish and accidentally swallowed the kayaker. “They don’t have the equipment to do what they need to do in order to devour a human,” Pirotta said, clarifying that humpback whales do not target human-sized prey.

Simancas, who survived the encounter, expressed a mix of awe and terror over the extraordinary moment, grateful that it ended safely for both him and his father.