A humpback whale briefly swallowed a kayaker off Chilean Patagonia before quickly releasing him unharmed
“PUNTA ARENAS, Chile – A humpback whale briefly swallowed a kayaker off the coast of Chilean Patagonia before releasing him unharmed. The shocking encounter, caught on video, 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 and engulfed Adrián along with his yellow kayak for a few moments before letting him go.
Dell, just a few meters away, filmed the dramatic moment while urging his son to remain calm.”
“Stay calm, stay calm,” Dell can be heard saying after the whale released his son from its mouth.
“I thought I was dead,” Adrián told The Associated Press. “I thought it had eaten me, that it had swallowed me.”
He described the sheer “terror” of those brief moments, noting that his true fear only set in after resurfacing. He worried that the massive whale might harm his father or that he would drown in the frigid waters.
Despite the frightening ordeal, Dell stayed composed, filming the incident and reassuring his son while managing his own anxiety.
“When I came up and started floating, I was scared something might happen to my father too, that we wouldn’t make it to shore in time, or that I’d suffer hypothermia,” Adrián explained.
After a few moments in the water, Adrián was able to reach his father’s kayak and was quickly helped. Despite the harrowing experience, both men made it back to shore unharmed.
The Strait of Magellan, located about 1,600 miles (3,000 kilometers) south of Santiago, is a popular tourist destination in Chilean Patagonia, renowned for its adventure activities.
The frigid waters of the Strait of Magellan present a significant challenge for sailors, swimmers, and explorers who attempt to navigate it by various means.
Although it’s summer in the Southern Hemisphere, temperatures in the region remain cool, with lows dipping to 39°F (4°C) and highs seldom exceeding 68°F (20°C).
While whale attacks on humans are exceptionally rare in Chilean waters, collisions with cargo ships have led to an increase in whale deaths in recent years. Additionally, whale strandings have become a recurring issue over the past decade.
