A humpback whale stranded in Danish waters has died after a multinational rescue attempt fell short. German emergency services had worked through the night to free the 12-metre mammal near the port of Frederikshavn, but it succumbed to exhaustion and injuries. British marine biologists, who had offered to deploy specialised towing equipment from the UK, arrived too late.
The whale was first reported beached on Monday morning. Danish authorities said the animal was in poor health before it became stranded. The British team, led by the British Divers Marine Life Rescue (BDMLR), had proposed using a 'soft tow' technique to guide it back to open sea.
But German rescue crews said the whale was already too weak to survive. The BDMLR condemned the lack of coordination between European agencies.
