A kayaker who claims to have been 'swallowed' by a humpback whale has revealed exactly what happened during the close encounter.
Adrian Simancas says that he ended up inside of the marine animal along with his yellow inflatable while enjoying a day out on the water with his dad in southern Chile.
The 24-year-old was kayaking through some rough waters close to the Patagonian city of Punta Arenas when he was supposedly ambushed by the monstrous whale.
Incredibly, his father Dell captured the whole thing on camera as he watched on in horror.
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Take a look at the footage here:
Last Saturday (8 February) at about 3pm local time, Adrian feared he'd end up swimming with the fishes after the animal interrupted his kayaking course.
In the footage shared to social media by his father, the lad and his dad can be seen navigating the water while each in an inflatable kayak, which they had erected after completing a trek on dry land.
Seemingly out of nowhere, a humpback whale emerged from below the surface and engulfed Adrian, as well as his vessel.
He disappears underwater for a few seconds, before eventually bobbing to the surface and yelling: "I thought he'd swallowed me!"
Adrian then floated over to a stunned Dell, who was shouting 'stay calm', to compose himself and head back to shore. He thankfully emerged unscathed.
Despite the supposed evidence of the encounter, questions have been raised about the authenticity of the video after it went viral online.
Some have suggested that the footage may have been doctored, but according to Adrian, the humpback whale really did almost make lunchmeat out of him.
Discussing his ordeal, the 24-year-old explained that he believed he was done for after he ended up inside the animal's mouth.
"I saw something blue and white passing close to my face, like on one side and on top, but I didn't understand what was happening," he said, according to local news outlet TVN.
"The next minute I sank. I thought I had been eaten."
The kayaker continued: "I thought it had already eaten me and swallowed me. But of course, I felt that maybe it was a killer whale."
Like humpback whales, orcas don't have a reputation for eating humans, however, they have been known to launch ferocious attacks.
Adrian said: "We had been talking about orcas shortly before, so I had that in my head.
"But when I got out I understood that, of course, it was probably out of curiosity that the whale had approached me, or maybe to communicate something."
His dad went on to reveal how he was left both 'surprised and worried' when he realised that his son had disappeared below the surface.
"When I turn around, I don’t see Adrian, my partner, my son," the 49-year-old said. "I don’t see him and I don’t see the boat.
"Then I see him come to the surface and after him the boat comes to the surface. I turned round and I couldn’t see Adrian and that was the only real moment of panic.
"He disappeared for about three seconds and then shot out, and that’s when I calmed down because I saw he was safe."
The pair ultimately called time on their expedition due to the bad weather - however, the run in with the humpback whale hasn't scared the father and son off kayaking.
They are already planning their next trip on the water, but said they will both be a lot more wary next time around.
Topics: Animals, World News, Weird, Viral
Olivia Burke