In what has been described as a “Biblical ordeal”, a US lobsterman escaped after being swallowed by a humpback whale.
Michael Packard, 56, of Provincetown, Massachusetts, was diving off Cape Cod when he was swallowed by the whale for between 30 and 40 seconds, only to be spat out with nothing more than a suspected dislocated knee.
Speaking to WBZ-TV News, Mr Packard said that after jumping off his boat in scuba gear into the water, he “felt this huge bump and everything went dark”.
He thought he’d been attacked by a great white shark, but after feeling around and discovering no teeth, realised it was something else entirely.
“And then I realised: ‘Oh my God, I’m in a whale’s mouth and he’s trying to swallow me. This is it, I’m going to die’,” he said.
The whale “all of a sudden” went up to the surface and “just erupted and started shaking his head,” Mr Packard related, continuing “I just got thrown in the air and landed in the water. I was free and I just floated there. I couldn’t believe… I’m here to tell it”.
