Vets say whale stranded for a month near Lübeck is fit to be transported in rescue effort funded by two entrepreneurs
German officials have given the green light for a fresh attempt to rescue a humpback whale that has been stranded off the country’s Baltic Sea coast for more than a month.
The 13-metre (40ft) whale’s struggle for survival has gripped Germany since the creature beached on a sandbank near the city of Lübeck, far from its natural habitat.
After several initial rescue attempts failed, two entrepreneurs came forward to finance a new effort that will involve loading the whale on to a special barge and carrying it out to deeper waters.
Till Backhaus, the environment minister for the state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, said two vets had examined the whale and believed it was fit to be transported.
