Whale Swallows Man and Spits Him Out
brush with death: a situation where someone comes very close to dying but survives
A lobster diver in Cape Cod had a shocking brush with death when a humpback whale accidentally swallowed him. Michael Packard said he was diving as usual when something huge hit him underwater. “Everything went dark,” he said. At first, he thought it was a shark attack, but then he realized he was inside a whale’s mouth.
After about 30 seconds, the whale surfaced and spit him out. Captain Joe Francis, who was nearby, said, “I saw Mike come flying out of the water.” Packard, who suffered minor injuries, was quickly taken to the hospital.
This kind of accident is extremely rare. Whales feed by “gulping” large amounts of water and small fish, but they do not target humans. Marine scientist Dr. Ian Kerr said, “The whale does not want a human dessert. He just happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time.”
Sample sentences
The hiker had a brush with death when he got lost in the mountains during a snowstorm.
During the flood, the family had a brush with death when their car was swept away by the water.
The driver had a brush with death after his car skidded on ice and nearly crashed into a tree.