News | Iceland Monitor | Tue 17 Dec 2024 | 14.00 GMT

Photos: Rescuing a trapped whale

"The whale seemed happy to be free after the ordeal of the night and day," the announcement says. Photo/Sent to mbl.is

The crew of the Coast Guard patrol ship Þór managed to rescue a whale that had become stuck in a mooring area north of Viðey earlier today.

The crew received a report of the incident last night and sent a Coast Guard special operations unit to the scene around midnight.

This is stated in a statement from the Coast Guard.

The operation began at six o'clock

Due to darkness and difficult conditions, it was difficult to cut off the whale and it was then decided that the crew of the patrol ship Þór would attempt to rescue the animal at the crack of dawn.

The guard notified MAST of the incident and five of the crew were sent to the whale, which is said to have stopped briefly on the surface but was indeed stuck in the mooring area.

The crew used a bellows, a rope, and a crane and tried to untie the rope in which the whale was entangled.

At six o'clock this morning, the tow was finally cut and the whale swam away on its own.

"The whale seemed happy to be free after the ordeal of the night and day," the announcement says.