A freediving instructor had an encounter of a lifetime with a massive whale while diving off Mexico's Pacific coast.
Emily Marzilli, 27, was diving with friends near a large sardine bait ball when activity in the water suddenly intensified.
Moments later, a Bryde's whale surged out of the cloudy water, took a massive bite of the bait ball - and then disappeared just as quickly, Marzilli told news agency SWNS.
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Bryde's whales are large baleen whales commonly found in warm, tropical and subtropical waters.
The species is considered one of the great whales, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration website.
The unexpected encounter left the divers momentarily frozen.
Marzilli said it took several seconds to process what had happened, as the group had been focused on watching fish just moments earlier.
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"Half of it was honestly in shock because you are expecting to see fish, and then all of a sudden there's this 20-, 30-ton whale that's right in front of you," she said.
The encounter lasted only about two minutes, but Marzilli said it felt unforgettable.
The dive took place in November in Magdalena Bay off Baja California Sur, an area known for intense marine activity during sardine season, SWNS said.
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Marzilli said the bait ball her group was observing was unusually large.
The divers were keeping a safe distance of roughly 15 to 20 meters when the feeding frenzy escalated.
As fish began attacking the bait ball more aggressively, visibility dropped as the water filled with foam.
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After the whale vanished and the bait ball was quickly consumed, the five divers surfaced in silence, exchanging looks of disbelief.
Marzilli said the experience was something she never expected to witness firsthand.
"Those are types of interactions that you can only dream of and wish to happen," she said.
