Stranded whale dies after washing up on Norfolk beach

4 February 2016

A sperm whale that washed up on a beach in Norfolk has died, rescuers have confirmed.

British Divers Marine Life Rescue (BDMLR) said the creature became stranded at Hunstanton early on Thursday morning, and that nothing could be done to save it.

The BDMLR said the whale died just after 8pm.

Operations manager Stephen Marsh said: "We're very sad to confirm that the whale has died but it is a bit of a relief because it had been in quite a lot of suffering."

Rescuers said even if the whale could return to the sea, it was likely to become stranded again and would almost certainly die.

The whale was said to be 1.5 miles out on the sand.

Earlier, Mr Marsh said there was nothing volunteers could do due to the size and weight of the creature.

He said: "This is not a rescue operation, it is just about making the whale as comfortable as possible.

"We hope it will die at some point tonight because it is suffering a lot at the moment.

"Usually sperm whales die fairly quickly after coming ashore but it could be 12 hours, it could be more."

Kieran Copeland, from the Hunstanton Sealife Sanctuary, which helped the rescue attempt, said possible internal injuries meant the whale was unlikely to survive.

"It is still alive at the moment but the prognosis is very poor. It is very unlikely to survive," he added.

It comes after three dead whales washed up on the Lincolnshire coast and one was found at Hunstanton last month. It is the 29th stranding across Europe in the last two weeks.

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Stranded whale dies after washing up on Norfolk beach

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