'Felt like a lifetime': Surfer knocked off board and dragged underwater by humpback whale

Kite surfer Jason Breen was hit by a breaching Humpback whale and dragged underwater for almost 30 feet, as ITV News' Ellie Pitt reports

Jason Breen was surfing his wind foil along the Sydney coast when a Humpback whale surfaced directly beneath him, knocking him clean off his board and dragging him around 30 feet underwater.

The 55-year-old enjoys living life on the wild side, but this was a wipeout he didn't see coming - and one that few would have believed if not for his go-pro footage.

'It felt like a lifetime'

"I saw the head come out, then I saw the rest of the body come out, then I saw the whole thing above me," Mr Breen told Channel7 News.

"About that stage, I'm going to be honest, I thought I was in trouble," he added.

Mr Breen was then sucked under the surface and body rolled with the whale for what he described as "a lifetime".

He added: "The whole time I was under the water I could just feel the mass of it pressing against my body and pushing me down.

"I'm just lucky."

The surfer only managed to resurface after his leash, a device meant to tether him to his board in all conditions, snapped.

Mr Breen also believes the whale in question was a juvenile, and that an encounter with a fully grown adult might not have ended as well.

He explained that the whale's smooth skin meant that he passed unharmed, but an adult's hide covered in barnacles would likely have "ripped me to pieces".

The surfer walked away from the incident without any injuries and plans on getting straight back into the sea.

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