A kayaker in Chilean Patagonia experienced a harrowing ordeal when a humpback whale briefly engulfed him and his vessel before releasing him unharmed. The extraordinary encounter, caught on camera, quickly went viral.
The incident occurred last Saturday (8 February) in Bahía El Águila near the San Isidro Lighthouse, within the frigid waters of the Strait of Magellan, reports the AFP.
Adrián Simancas was paddling alongside his father, Dell, when the massive marine mammal surfaced, momentarily swallowing both him and his yellow kayak. Within seconds, the whale expelled him back into the water.
Dell, just metres away, filmed the heart-stopping moment while urging his son to remain calm. “Stay calm, stay calm,” he can be heard saying after Adrián resurfaced.
“I thought I was dead,” Adrián later told the Associated Press.
“I thought it had eaten me, that it had swallowed me.”
He recounted the sheer terror of the experience, though his greater fear came afterward—concerned for his father’s safety and the risk of hypothermia in the icy waters.
Despite the traumatic episode, Dell remained composed, continuing to film while managing his own distress.
Adrián, regaining his composure, swam towards his father’s kayak and was swiftly assisted. Both reached the shore without injury.
The Strait of Magellan, situated approximately 1,600 miles (3,000 kilometres) south of Santiago, is a prominent attraction in Chilean Patagonia, drawing adventurers and wildlife enthusiasts.
Despite it being summer in the Southern Hemisphere, temperatures in the region remain brisk, with lows of 4°C and highs rarely exceeding 20°C.
Although whale attacks on humans are exceedingly rare in Chilean waters, conservationists have raised concerns over increasing whale fatalities due to collisions with cargo ships.
The frequency of whale strandings has also escalated in the past decade.
Adrián’s encounter, while terrifying, stands as a remarkable testament to the unpredictable wonders of nature—one that will not soon be forgotten.