It wasn’t exactly the tale of Jonah, but one man still has a whale of a story to tell. South African dive tour operator Rainer Schimpf recalled nearly being swallowed by a whale after he was mistakenly swept into its jaws during a sardine feeding frenzy last month. The 51-year-old was snorkeling near Port Elizabeth Harbour when a series of photos captured him being sucked headfirst into a Bryde’s whale’s mouth. (Check out the video here or above.)

Extraordinary images show the moment a diver was almost swallowed by a whale off the South African Coast. #7Newspic.twitter.com/vKmWzPNYV9 — 7 News Sydney (@7NewsSydney) March 10, 2019

“There was no time for fear or any emotion,” he told The Telegraph. “I knew instantly what had happened. I knew that a whale had come and taken me and I instinctively held my breath, assuming that it would dive down again and spit me out somewhere in the depths of the Indian Ocean.” He’s lucky it didn’t ― Bryde’s whales, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, can dive for five to 15 minutes and can reach depths of up to 1,000 feet.

Barcroft Animals South African dive tour operator Rainer Schimpf was swimming off the coast when he was accidentally swept into a whale's mouth.

A photographer who witnessed the dramatic scene from a nearby boat immediately began snapping away, capturing everything but Schimpf’s legs vanishing inside the whale. Fortunately, almost as soon as the unfortunate gulp began, Schimpf said, the whale released its jaw, allowing him to slip free to the surface. Schimpf and witnesses around him described it as a lucky break, likely stemming from a misunderstanding.

kanyapak katsang via Getty Images A Bryde’s whale pictured in Thailand.