The whales were found on the Lincolnshire coast this morning shortly after a sperm whale made the fatal mistake of swimming into shallow water at Hunstanton in Norfolk.
The Royal National Lifeboat Institution’s (RNLI) Skegness base tweeted a picture of one of the whales after it was carried ashore with the 6.30am tide.
Later, another two whales were found washed up south of the town after their pod got into difficulty in the Wash, which is notorious for its low tides.
On Friday a 45ft-long whale was left stranded on rocks at Hunstanton and despite attempts by rescuers the 30-tonne mammal sadly died the following day.
Discussing the whales found at Skegness, RNLI crewman Adam Holmes said: ‘It’s very sad to see such magnificent beasts washed up and passed their best on the shore.
‘One whale was very similar to the one washed up at Hunstanton on Saturday and we think these were the other whales spotted with it.
‘They got into trouble in The Wash which is very shallow water and extremely difficult to navigate. Once they’re trapped in there there’s very little we can do.
‘If they get washed out to sea then they can become a hazard for boats and then the Coastguard and Maritime Agency will get involved.’
As soon as word spread of stranded whales people flocked to the beach to stare at the impressive creatures.
Some onlookers even took photos and selfies with their friends as others just looked on solemnly.
The next move will be to remove the carcasses but details of the clean-up operation have yet to be announced.
No comments:
Post a Comment