- A commercial lobster diver swears he was swallowed whole by a humpback whale while diving off of Cape Cod's coast Friday.
- Michael Packard posted on Facebook "I was lobster diving and a humpback whale tried to eat me. I was in his closed mouth for about 30 to 40 seconds before he rose to the surface and spit me out. I am very bruised up but have no broken bones."
- After his story spread, Packard told reporters he was about 45 feet deep in the water, when, "All of a sudden, I felt this huge shove, and the next thing I knew it was completely black. I could sense I was moving, and I could feel the whale squeezing with the muscles in his mouth."
- Packard continued with "I was completely inside; it was completely black. I thought to myself, ‘there’s no way I’m getting out of here. I’m done, I’m dead.’ All I could think of was my boys — they’re 12 and 15 years old."
- He said after around 30 to 40 seconds of struggling to escape, he saw light, saying "I just got thrown in the air and landed in the water and I was free."
- Packard's crewmate, who was driving the boat said "I saw Michael kind of pop up within the mess and the whale disappeared."
- A senior scientist at the New England Aquarium believes Packard's story, saying the whale could have mistaken the diver's bubbles for a school of fish.
- Even with a dislocated knee, Packard insists he'll return to the water to do the job he loves, diving for lobsters.
Photo: Getty Images