Julie McSorley and Liz Cottriel are two friends from California who were out on a kayak, watching humpback whales, when suddenly they were thrown in the water by the animal.
As per the CNN report, they were on the Avila Beach of California in a kayak when a whale came underneath them and capsized them. To onlookers, it appeared as if the two had been swallowed by the whale but that was not the case.
Julie and Liz were thrown into the water by the humpback whale but the video makes it look like that the whale has swallowed the two. Fox26 News shared two videos of the incident — one recorded by an onlooker while the other is from one of the kayakers.
What started as a peaceful morning of kayaking turned into a close call for two friends at Avila Beach. Video shows the pair appearing to almost be swallowed by a humpback whale.https://t.co/dJZulNZedN pic.twitter.com/JEyZibxjxi
— FOX26 News (@KMPHFOX26) November 3, 2020
Speaking to Fox26 News, Liz said, “I’m thinking: ‘I’m dead. I’m dead.’ I thought it was going to land on me. Next thing I know, I’m underwater.”
The two friends are from California’s San Luis Obispo. They were about 30 feet away from the whales, watching them when one decided to attack. Julie said that she saw the big bait ball come up out of water and saw the whale come up. That’s when she thought that the whale had come too close.
She was also recording the entire incident and thinking to herself that she was going to push the humpback whale out of her way. The two friends then hopped back on their kayak and went back to the shore. The two of them were naturally wet and Liz said that even when she got to the car, some fishes came out of her shirt when she shook it.
However, in the accident, Julie lost her car keys in the water. According to Liz, she was infatuated with whales but never thought that she would see one so closely — right in her face.
Although the incident looked scary to other kayakers, the two friends were not injured by the whale attack.