Kayaker, Who Survived Being Swallowed by a Whale as His Dad Recorded, Describes HisPinocchio-Like Escape

Mar. 15, 2025

Adrián Simancas details his Feb. 8 whale encounter to CNN.Photo:CNN/YouTuber; Dell Simancas via AP

CNN/YouTuber; Dell Simancas via AP

As previously reported, Adrián Simancas and his father, Dell, were kayaking in the Strait of Magellan in Chile’s Patagonia region on Feb. 8 when he was scooped up into the mouth of a whale. His father captured the jarring footage of the encounter on video, which showed the whale take Adrián underwater and apparently release him within seconds as he wound up a few yards away and resurfaced.

Now, as Adrián detailed the ordeal toCNN, it all started when he felt “a wave struck me from behind.”

“But it was very heavy to be anything like that,” he said. “So when I turned around, I saw some blue, dark colors and white flashing right through my face. And I felt a slimy texture in my cheek.”

Adrián Simancas moments before ending up in the mouth of a whale.Dell Simancus via AP

Dell Simancus via AP

“It was just a second but it felt like more time. Because I was thinking a lot of stuff. I remembered aboutPinocchio. Everyone’s saying that,” he added of Geppetto and Pinocchio’s escape from the mouth of a whale in the classic tale.

“It was surprising. I wasn’t expecting that at all. At first, I thought that I would die because there’s nothing I could do if I am inside the mouth of a giant fish. I didn’t have enough time to realize that I was not in danger.”

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According to Adrián, if the whale had “hit me,” the situation would have been “more dangerous.”

The pair also discussed Dell’s decision to use his 360-degree camera at just the right moment to capture the encounter, which came after the father-son duo saw waves rising. “Two seconds” after he clicked record, Dell said he heard an “incredible wave” behind him.

“Adrián called me and I calmed down because I knew he was alive,” Dell added. “So we were just very, very lucky to avoid this.”

Adrián’s later fears included getting to the shore again, having hypothermia and something potentially happening to his father too. Luckily, later footage shows that his dad reached him and the pair returned to land together. As the kayaker puts it, the whale approached him “probably out of curiosity.”

Per theNational Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Fisheries, the humpback whale — an endangered species — typically “feed on shrimp-like crustaceans (krill) and small fish." They can be up to 60 feet in length and 40 tons in weight and reside “in all oceans around the world."

The father-son duo told CNN that the whale encounter won’t be their last kayaking experience together. “Yeah, I want to go back,” Adrián said of their unsuccessful kayak journey to an island, as he confirmed they hope to “do it again” from “a far distance” next time around.

source: people.com