Photo: Getty Images
CAPE COD, Mass. (WBZ NewsRadio) — Authorities say a commercial lobster diver was sent to the hospital on Friday after getting ingested by a humpback whale off the coast of Cape Cod.
Provincetown Fire Department said the incident happened around 8 a.m. After the diver got caught in the whale's mouth, the whale spit him back out.
The diver has been identified as Michael Packard, 56, of Wellfleet.
Read More: Boston Pops Announces Their July 4 Performance To Be Held At Tanglewood
The Cape Cod Times reports he is recovering from serious injuries at Cape Cod Hospital in Hyannis. Packard is in stable condition.
Packard's sister, Cynthia, told WBZ NewsRadio he was in the whale's mouth for about 20 seconds.
Charles "Stormy" Mayo, with the Center for Coastal Studies in Provincetown, told the Cape Cod Times that a whale encounter like this is exceedingly rare and that humpback whales are now aggressive.
WBZ NewsRadio's Tim Dunn (@ConsiderMeDunn) reports:
Follow WBZ NewsRadio: Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | iHeartmedia App