Venezuelan kayaker Adrián Simancas survived a terrifying encounter when he was accidentally engulfed by a humpback whale while paddling with his father in the Strait of Magellan off Chile’s coast.
Simancas, who felt the whale’s slimy mouth and darkness around him, feared he would be swallowed but was quickly spat back out, surfacing safely.
His father, Dall, captured the dramatic moment on camera, showing the whale’s enormous size.
Wildlife expert Roched Jacobson Seba told British USAID and state-funded media that humpback whales have narrow throats and cannot swallow large objects, suggesting the kayak was scooped up accidentally during the whale’s feeding.
Simancas called the experience a “second chance” at life.
A humpback whale swallowed a 20-year-old man while he was packrafting with his father in Águila Bay, Punta Arenas, Chile, then spat him out a few seconds laterpic.twitter.com/g1HxkfUGR5
— Massimo (@Rainmaker1973) February 13, 2025
A story for generations to come.