A South American man has survived after being nearly swallowed by a whale off Port Elizabeth harbour, Sky News reported.
Rainer Schimpf said the experience made him realize how small people are. Fortunately for him, the whale spat him out, BTA reported.
Before the incident, Schimpf photographed the sardine migration, which, in addition to whales, attracts penguins, seals, dolphins, sharks and seabirds looking for easy prey. Suddenly a striped bryde’s whale appeared, opened its mouth and swallowed him head first.
“I was watching the sharks because you have to know if there’s a shark in front of you or to the side. So we were watching the sharks very carefully – then all of a sudden it got dark,” Schimpf said. Two other people were in the water with him.
According to him, the whale was about 15 m long and weighed 20 tons.
“There was no time for fear right now, just pure instincts,” Schimpf added.
As the whale grabbed him, Schimpf felt pressure around his body. He immediately realized it was a whale. His next thought was that the mammal couldn’t swallow it because it was too big. So he calmed down a bit. After that he felt that the pressure was not increasing.
“My next thought was that the whale might drag me down into the water, so I immediately held my breath. Apparently he realized I wasn’t fit to eat and spat me out,” Schimpf continued.
Schimpf has 20 years of experience as a diving tour operator. He said close encounters with whales are a big exception because they can be seen from afar.
“We were very surprised that this whale appeared out of nowhere,” concluded Schimpf.
Credit: Youtube/ Barcroft Animals
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