MUMBAI: A 26-foot-long juvenile humpback whale was found stranded off the coast of Bandra West on Saturday morning and later died despite rescue efforts by multiple agencies. The whale’s carcass was subsequently transported to Versova and buried on the beach.26-ft humpback whale dies after beaching at BandraAccording to forest department sources, the whale was spotted near the Bandra coastline, following which the Maharashtra Security Force, which assists the Mangrove Protection Cell, alerted senior officials. Personnel from the Mangrove Protection Cell, Mumbai Police and the fire brigade rushed to the spot. Workers from the under-construction Versova-Bandra Sea Link also joined the rescue effort, deploying a crane and entering the choppy waters along with local fishermen in an attempt to save the animal.Despite the efforts, the whale could not be rescued.“It is surprising that no senior forest department official visited the spot. A few years ago, when a whale was stranded in Ratnagiri, the state government had deputed senior officials and even arranged boats to guide the animal back to sea,” said a wildlife enthusiast.Round Forest Officer Sainath Salve said the whale was transported to Versova in a truck around 3 pm and buried. “We made some efforts to rescue it, but the whale died,” he said.Chief Conservator of Forests N.R. Praveen, who heads the Mangrove Cell, said he was not aware of the incident.Retired IAS officer and Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS) president Praveen Pardeshi described the incident as “very sad”. “Whales that get stranded rarely survive because their internal organs collapse without the buoyancy provided by water. We need to work on methods to stop them from getting on the beach,” he said.