German rescue teams have been trying to ease the humpback’s path back into deeper waters without success
A 10-metre-long humpback whale stranded on a sandbar in the Baltic Sea is in danger of dying if rescue workers do not manage to help it move into deeper waters soon, experts have said.
Believed to be a young male, the mammal was spotted by guests of a hotel in Niendorf in Lübeck Bay, northern Germany, on Monday after they heard its deep moans and alerted police.
Since then, teams from the local coastguard, fire brigade and marine rescuers have been trying to ease the whale’s path back into deeper waters. Their efforts have included removing netting from parts of its body and trying to create waves to help it swim away.
Experts have said the whale, which is thought to need only one or two fin strokes to shift into deeper water, appeared to be getting weaker by the hour.
