This really is a whale of a story. Michael Packard was diving for lobster off the Cape Cod coast in Massachusetts when he claims was struck by what felt like a 100-tonne lorry.
Being 45ft below the surface, the huge object was not a truck at all however - but in fact of the largest living creatures known on the face of the planet. Humpback whales are among the biggest beasts on earth alongside their cousins the blue whale and have been known to eat up to 1.4 metric tons of small fish or krill.
So when Michael was gulped by one of the friendly giants in June of last year, his adult male body would have barely touched the sides of its mouth. An experienced commercial diver, Michael thought he had been swallowed by a huge shark when he suddenly found himself inside a pitch black, fleshy cavern, as the predators are regularly spotted around the New England coast.
