Freediver Narrowly Escapes Being ‘Swallowed’ Whole by Large Humpback Whale in Heart-Stopping Moment Captured on Video

A freediver almost had her own Pinocchio moment — being swallowed up by a whale.

Freediver Cindy Yang, 45, a freediving coach and underwater photographer from Australia, had been diving off the coast of Norway when she had a close encounter with a large humpback whale that was captured all on camera, according to Caters News.

In the heart-stopping video, she could be seen diving horizontally into the water when a large school of herring fish could be seen swimming up beneath her. Seconds later, it was revealed what the fish were running away from as a large humpback whale came up from the depths of the water in a swirl of bubbles.

The whale narrowly missed Yang as it opened its mouth to eat a bunch of the fish. The freediver, who was at the ocean’s surface at the time, appeared calm and collected as she swam out of the way. 

However, her left arm could be seen dangling near the whale’s open mouth at one point — showing just how close a call it was.

Yang described the whole incident to Caters News as “the most breathtaking and humbling moment of her underwater career.”

“While freediving, a bait ball of herrings emerges suddenly and a humpback whale came from beneath to feed, nearly swallowing me,” she wrote of the encounter.

Several people commented on the video, noting how crazy the whole thing was. One person said, “Omg Cindy, this is wild!”

Another noted how similar the incident was to the story of Jonah in The Bible — who similarly to Pinocchio — gets swallowed whole by a large fish. They joked to Wang, per Caters News, “You were about to be Jonah!”

This isn’t the first time this year that a diver has had a close encounter with a humpback whale that nearly ended badly. Another diver, Timo Dersch, who had been swimming through the chilly waters surrounding Norway in early 2025, also came close to getting gobbled up.

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer​​, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

During one moment captured on the Dersch’s footage, he was taken by surprise as the whale swam out from behind a school of fish in his direction. Before he could fully get his bearings, a second humpback whale charged past the diver with its mouth open, narrowly avoiding striking Dersch with its gargantuan maw and its tail as it swam away.

“I was freediving with orcas in Norway, taking photos of their feeding when a whale came up to swallow the bait,” Dersch told Storyful about the clip. “I moved out of the way, not realizing another humpback came up behind me trying to do the same thing.”