Man Nearly Gets Eaten By Whale - And Lives To Tell The Tale

A South African tour operator has almost been swallowed by a whale.

Rainer Schimpf was snorkelling on the surface of the water off South Africa's Port Elizabeth Harbour when a whale emerged, with its jaws engulfing him headfirst.

However, Schmipf seems in high spirits about the incident.

"I instantly knew it was a whale because there was a pressure on my hip which increased slightly to a point where it stopped," he said.

"Had it been a shark it would have been two of me and I don't think that I would have seen anything again. "

The diver says he's not afraid of the water and the animals in it, and believes it was all an accident.

A real-life Moby Dick situation!