A kayaker recounted an incident where he was ‘swallowed by a whale’ while his father captured the moment on video with a mixture of fear and composure.
The young adventurer was navigating the waters of Bahía El Águila, located south of Punta Arenas in Chile, when a whale reportedly engulfed him and his kayak, as detailed in the local news outlet 24Horas.
In a remarkable turn of events, Adrian Simancas not only emerged unharmed but his father managed to film the entire episode, maintaining an unexpected calm as he witnessed his son’s disappearance under the waves.
Adrian recalled the alarming experience, saying: “I saw something between blue and white that passed close to my face and it was like on one side and above me. I didn’t understand what was happening and then I felt like I was drowning.
“I thought it had eaten me,” he continued.
The duo was kayaking in the bay within the Magallanes region when a humpback whale, with its mouth open, submerged and briefly swallowed Adrian before releasing him.
His father, Dell Simancas, attempted to rescue Adrian, towing him to safety with a rope while maintaining a calm demeanor.
Dell commented: “I didn’t see Adrian for three seconds and I got scared. When I turned around I didn’t see anything, I didn’t see Adrian. That was the only real scary moment I had, because I didn’t see him for like three seconds. And suddenly he just shot out.”
The footage captures Adrian calmly kayaking when the massive creature emerges, leading to his brief submersion beneath the water.
Moments after, Adrian resurfaces along with his yellow kayak, tightly gripping it.
In the video, Dell can be heard providing guidance to Adrian, urging him to ‘calm down’ and ‘grab the boat’ as the whale briefly reappears before vanishing again.
“Calm down, calm down, I’m coming,” he reassures his son while paddling towards him and offering a rope.
Adrian then remarks to his father: “I thought [it] had swallowed me.”
While the incident was nerve-wracking, both escaped unharmed and feel fortunate to have avoided a disaster.
This story emerges alongside a new YouTube simulation video that illustrates the grim outcome if a sperm whale were to consume you whole and not expel you.
Zackdfilms, famous for his enlightening and often frightening simulation videos, reveals the dire consequences, stating you would face a gruesome demise.
The commentary explains: “If you were swallowed by a sperm whale you would be squeezed down its massive throat. You’d continue down its esophagus and into a series of stomach chambers that are filled with digestive acids.
“These acids would immediately start breaking down your body but even if you managed to avoid the acid, the lack of air inside the whale would quickly cause you to suffocate.”
Reflecting on Adrian’s ordeal, one Twitter user noted: “If I get swallowed by a whale and then spit out, tranquillo is NOT what I’m gonna be.”