Humpback whale swallows and spits out kayaker off the coast of Chile

A humpback whale briefly swallowed a kayaker near Chile’s southernmost Patagonia region

A humpback whale briefly swallowed a kayaker during a father-son excursion out on the waters around Chile’s southernmost Patagonia region.

The terrifying moment, captured on camera by the kayaker’s father, showed the whale surfacing in the Strait of Magellan and gulping Adrian Simancas for a few moments before releasing him.

In the video, verified by ITV News’ US partner CNN, Adrian’s father, Dell, is heard yelling to his son, who had been spat out of the whale, to “grab the boat.”

Adrian, 24, then swims towards his dad’s pack raft and holds onto it as they pull away.

“I thought it swallowed me,” Adrian said in the video.

Speaking to CNN, Adrian explained what it felt like to be briefly engulfed by a humpback whale.

Adrian Simancas (right) and his father, Dell (left). / Credit: CNN

“When I turned around, I felt on my face like a slimy texture; I saw colours like dark blue, white, something approaching from behind that closed… and sank me,” he said.

“At that moment, I thought there was nothing I could do, that I was going to die, I didn’t know what it was.”

But despite the uncertainty, he felt his life vest “pull me up, and then two seconds later I was back on the surface and then started understanding what happened,” he said.

Dell told CNN he began recording when he noticed “pretty waves that seemed exciting.”

He then heard “what sounds like a strong wave hitting behind me and when I turn around, I don’t see Adrian or his pack raft, so I got worried, and around three seconds later I see he’s shot up to the surface and the pack raft after him.”

When asked if both father and son would go back to kayaking, they said: “Of course.”

Wildlife scientist Vanessa Pirotta said the humpback whale was likely lunge-feeding on krill or fish at the time, and the kayaker was in its way.

“The gentleman happened to be very close to the whale that was just going about feeding behaviour. The man was not swallowed,” she said.

“These animals are not targeting human-sized prey. They don’t have the equipment to do what they need to do in order to devour a human,” she said, pointing to their narrow oesophagus and lack of teeth.