Tow kayakers escaped uninjured when they briefly ended up in the mouth of a hmpback whale that surfaced beneath them.

Julie  McSorley and Liz Cottriel said they were kayaking and whale watching off the coast of Avila Beach when the whale surfaced from underneath their boat.

A video recorded by a witness shows the women and the kayak in the whale's mouth before they all disappeared under the surface of the water.

"I saw  the big pool of fish, the big bait ball come up out of the water .I saw the whale come up. All of a sudden, I was lifted up, and I was in the water,"
McSorley said.

The pair said they ended up capsized in the water as the whale left them behind.

The video makes it appear as though the women are being swallowed by the whale, but they are considerably larger than the animal's usual diet of krill and small fishes.

McSorley and Cottriel made their way back to shore uninjured