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Australian Surfer Hit and Dragged Underwater by Humpback Whale, Captures Incident on GoPro

Surfer Jason Breen, 55, was hit, then dragged about 30 feet underwater by a juvenile humpback whale off Australia's east coast; he believes he wouldn't have survived had the surfboard leash not snapped, enabling his escape.

Overview

  • Jason Breen, a 55-year-old Australian surfer, was body-slammed by a humpback whale while wingfoiling at Mona Vale Beach, which knocked him into the water.
  • The unexpected collision resulted in the whale dragging Breen 20-30 feet underwater by catching his surfboard leash, leading him to believe for a moment that this was what it felt like to die.
  • Breen was eventually released and managed to swim to the surface after his surfboard leash, which are not usually designed to break, snapped due to the force.
  • Breen later discovered that the entire encounter was recorded on his GoPro camera, which he initially thought was turned off. The footage provided verifiable evidence for his friends who initially thought he had made up the story.
  • Breen believes the whale was a juvenile due to its smooth skin, speculating that he wouldn't have survived if it were an adult or had barnacles, which would have ripped him apart.