Whale stranded off Germany swims to freedom after days of efforts to save it

Rescuers used boats and excavators to try to guide 10-metre long sea mammal to deeper waters

A humpback whale stranded on Germany’s Baltic Sea coast since early this week has freed itself and swum into deeper waters, rescuers said on Friday.

A flotilla of vessels were following the weakened animal at a distance, hoping to help guide it into the North Sea and toward the Atlantic Ocean, its natural habitat.

The roughly 10-metre-long (33ft) sea mammal was first spotted on Monday stuck in shallow water off Niendorf near the northern city of Lübeck.

Then commenced days of intensive efforts to free the whale using boats to make waves and excavators to dig up sand, as fears grew for its life.