BERLIN: A humpback whale stranded on a sandbank off Germany’s Baltic coast has freed itself and was heading back out to sea on Sunday but was still at risk, authorities said. The 13.5-meter (44-foot) long mammal spent six days struggling on sandbanks in Lubeck bay and vets had feared for its health as the ordeal went on. It freed itself from a first sandbank on Friday, after a mechanical digger set up an escape route, but became trapped again on another.

The marine mammal, which is stuck on a sandbank, was first spotted in Lübeck Bay on Monday.

Rescue teams now hope the whale will swim out of the shallow waters of Lübeck Bay and into the wider sea.