Now I know how Jonah felt!

THIS is the incredible moment a diver was almost swallowed by a whale.

Rainer Schimpf, 51, was caught in the creature’s jaws when he was documenting a so- called sardine run with fellow divers off Port Elizabeth in South Africa.

In a situation echoing Jonah and the whale in the Bible’s Old Testament, Mr Schimpf said he feared he would be dragged to the depths.

‘I could feel the pressure on my hip, there is no time for fear in a situation like that – you have to use your instinct,’ he said. ‘Nothing can actually prepare you for the event when you end up inside the whale. I held my breath because I thought he was going to dive down and release me much deeper in the ocean, it was pitch black inside.’ However, just as it looked as if he would perish, Mr Schimpf was spat out by the Bryde’s whale, which can grow to 50ft.

Heinz Toperczer, his colleague and photographer, kept the camera focused on him from the team’s boat to capture the amazing scene 25 miles out to sea.

A sardine run sees gannets, penguins, seals, dolphins, sharks – and whales – come together to capture large quantities of fish.