Whale swallows man in Chile—and then spits him out

A humpback whale briefly swallowed a kayaker in southern Chile, before spitting him out unharmed, an amazing escape that was all captured on video. 

Adrian Simancas was paddling off the Patagonian city of Punta Arenas when the giant baleen surged out of the water swallowing him and his yellow kayak whole. 

Five seconds later a stunned Simancas bobbed to the surface, as the whale's dorsal again emerged above the surface of the frigid gray water. 

Humpback whale swallows kayaker off Chile before releasing him. pic.twitter.com/UuUatMGUxN

— The Associated Press (@AP) February 13, 2025

"I thought it had already eaten me and swallowed me!" Simancas exclaimed. 

The entire remarkable episode was caught on camera and posted on social media by his father, Dell Simancas, who can be heard shouting "Relax! Relax!" to his understandably unrelaxed son.

"Grab it, grab it" the father adds, instructing his son to keep a hold of the kayak to stay afloat.  

"Relax, relax, I'm coming," the father says. "Let's go to shore." (AFP)