A giant humpback whale is fighting for its life stranded in the shallow waters of Germany’s Baltic coast.
Rescuers are now in a tight race against time to save the 32-foot animal.
The whale, believed to be a juvenile male, has been stranded on a sandbar near Timmendorfer Strand since Monday.
Emergency crews have thrown everything they have into the mission, but so far every effort to free the beached animal has failed.
Heavy machinery, including excavators and a powerful suction dredger, has now been deployed in a last-ditch effort to dig a channel back into deeper water.
Rescuers are working with pinpoint precision, creating a trench just meters from the whale’s head with no margin for error.
The plan is to dig a 50-metre-long escape route through the dense sand, while battling wind and changing currents that threaten to derail the effort.
Mayor Sven Parthel-Bohnke said the crew should move slowly so the animals can get used to the noise within centimeters of their heads.
Experts say the whale is still showing signs of life, moving and making loud sniffing sounds as divers approach.
But time is running out, says Carsten Mannheimer of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society: “The whale can survive in this state for about five to six days if it is healthy enough.”
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