BERLIN, March 24 — Efforts are underway to rescue a whale which was spotted stranded on Germany’s northern Baltic Sea coast early on Monday morning.

A police spokesman said that the massive marine mammal was first sighted at around 1:50am (0050 GMT) near Niendorf in the state of Schleswig-Holstein.

Initial signs are that it is a humpback whale.

Attempts to rescue the mammal were made throughout the day, including by using boats to generate waves to help the whale return to deeper water.

While these failed, the rescuers did manage to partially free the whale from the netting that had become wrapped around its body.

The police set up barriers on land and used boats on the water to ensure that the whale was not disturbed by onlookers.

Local media report that alongside the police and fire brigade, the state’s Environment Minister Tobias Goldschmidt and wildlife experts had gone to assist the rescue.

The NDR broadcaster said that the whale could be heard periodically making “deep, muffled” sounds and that it appeared weak.

It is possible that the stranded animal is the same whale that became entangled in a fishing net further east along Germany’s Baltic Sea coast just under two weeks ago.

A week earlier, a whale had likewise been sighted in the Baltic port of Wismar. — AFP