A packrafter had a lucky escape earlier this week after ending in the jaws a whale. Adrian Simancas, 23, was paddling the icy waters of Patagonia, Chile, when an enormous humpback whale emerged the deep and engulfed him and his inflatable raft its mouth. Luckily for Mr Simancas, the esophagus a humpback can only stretch to a diameter of 40 cm, and is ordinarily the width a human fist. No sooner had Simancas been gulped by the humpback than he was spat out the choppy Southern Ocean. Simancas' father captured the whole horrifying incident on video. He said: "Suddenly, I saw Adrian emerge from the waves, along with what looked a gigantic animal."
Mr Simancas recounted his terrifying ordeal to journalists back dry land. He said: "I felt something hit me behind. All this happened a second. Something dark blue or white enveloped me, and a slimy texture brushed my face." He continued: "I started to sink, and I just closed my eyes, expecting an impact… I was surrounded water. I realized that I was something's mouth and I had been eaten." He added: "I felt I was in a whirlpool… spinning ." The Guardian newspaper reported: " a few fleeting moments, Adrian's fate was the jaws of the 40-ton [mammal]." Adrian said his close encounter would not deter him future rafting outings.
