Humpback Whale swallows kayaker in Chilean Patagonia — Watch the unbelievable moment
A kayaker in Chilean Patagonia had a terrifying encounter when a humpback whale briefly swallowed him and his kayak in the Strait of Magellan. Captured on video, the incident went viral.
A humpback whale briefly engulfed a kayaker off the coast of Chilean Patagonia, before quickly releasing him unharmed. The remarkable moment was captured on camera and quickly went viral.
On Saturday, Adrián Simancas was kayaking with his father, Dell, in Bahía El Águila near the San Isidro Lighthouse in the Strait of Magellan when a humpback whale surfaced. The whale swallowed Adrián and his yellow kayak for several seconds before releasing him.
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Kayaker survives brief encounter with Humpback Whale
Dell, who was just a few meters away, captured the shocking moment on video while urging his son to remain calm.
“Stay calm, stay calm,” Dell can be heard saying as his son was freed from the whale’s mouth.
“I thought I was dead,” Adrián said to The Associated Press. “I thought it had eaten me, that it had swallowed me.”
He shared the terror he felt during those few seconds, but his true fear set in only after resurfacing, as he worried the giant whale might harm his father or that he would die from the icy waters.
Despite the frightening event, Dell stayed focused, filming the encounter and reassuring his son, even though he was also concerned.
Adrián Simancas minutes before getting 'swallowed' by a whale in Patagonia. Photo: WDSU
“When I surfaced and started floating, I was scared that something might happen to my father, that we wouldn’t reach shore in time, or that I would get hypothermia,” Adrián explained.
After a few moments in the water, Adrián managed to reach his father’s kayak, where he was quickly helped. Despite the scare, both made it back to shore uninjured.
The Strait of Magellan, located around 1,600 miles south of Santiago, Chile’s capital, is a major tourist destination in Chilean Patagonia, famous for adventure activities.
The frigid waters of the strait pose significant challenges for sailors, swimmers, and explorers trying to cross them.
Even though it is summer in the Southern Hemisphere, the region’s temperatures remain cool, with minimums dropping to 39°F (4°C), and highs rarely exceeding 68°F (20°C).
Although whale attacks on humans are very rare in Chilean waters, the number of whale deaths due to collisions with cargo ships has increased in recent years, and whale strandings have also become a frequent issue over the last decade.