Dolphin passed around for selfies 'was already dead', says tourist

A baby dolphin was “already dead” when it was passed around by beachgoers to pose for selfies, a tourist has claimed.

Video footage showed huge, gawking crowds surrounding the young creature on a beach in Santa Teresita in Argentina after a man plucked it from the sea.

The dolphin was thought to have quickly overheated and died while out of the water, as it was paraded along the beach and handed amongst holidaymakers to pose for photos.

But one of the tourists involved, Hernan Coria, said the dolphin was one of many others which had washed up dead on the beach.

“The water was very hot,” he told local news outlet Telefe Noticias.

“It was full of jellyfish and people were not going in the water.

“It all lasted five minutes. It was washed up already dead.

“They took it back to the water but it wouldn’t go back out.”