This diver was nearly swallowed by a whale off Cape Cod
Little did a humpback whale know on Friday when it opened its mouth off the coast of Cape Cod to feed that it would promptly make the news for swallowing a lobster diver and spitting him out. It actually sounds like the kind of unbelievable thing you see in movies — a whale attempting to eat a human. But the incredibly rare event happened in real life, terrifying a man who happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. The diver lived to tell the tale largely unscathed.
Michael Packard, a diver with 40 years of experience, told WBZ-TV News that he “felt this huge bump and everything went dark” soon after he jumped off his boat into the water.
He dove to about 45 feet when he experienced the darkness. He thought he was attacked by a shark initially. “And then I felt around, and I realized there was no teeth,” he said. “And then I realized, ‘Oh my God I’m in a whale’s mouth. . . and he’s trying to swallow me.’”
Packard said he thought he was going to die. He thought about his kids and wife, feeling there was no way to exit the whale’s mouth.
“Then all of a sudden, he went up to the surface and just erupted and started shaking his head. I just got thrown in the air and landed in the water,” the lobster diver said. “I was free, and I just floated there. I couldn’t believe… I’m here to tell it.”
Packard said he thought his legs were broken, but he was only bruised. He left the hospital later on Friday, walking with a limp.
