Two kayakers in California, Julie McSorley and Liz Cottriel, were watching humpback whales off the coast of Avila Beach when one of them swam closer and overturned their kayaks.
"I saw the big pool of fish, the big bait ball come up out of the water. I saw the whale come up," McSorley said. "I thought, 'Oh no! It's too close."
Video footage made by a nearby witness gives the impression that the whale swallowed the kayakers, but both of them only capsised into the water.
"I'm thinking to myself, 'I'm gonna push. Like, I'm gonna push a whale out of the way! It was the weirdest thought. I'm thinking, 'I'm dead. I'm dead.' I thought it was gonna land on me," Ms Cottriel said. "Next thing I know, I'm under water."