Tragedy as rescuers unable to save rare whale found grounded on Wales beach

A rare whale found washed up on a UK beach tragically died despite the attempts of brave rescuers who tried to save the marine animal.

The long-finned pilot whale, which was a female and under 12 months old, was found stuck on Llangennith Beach in the Gower, Swansea on Monday, September 1. Desperate locals attempted to save the whale but with the tide going out and the group being unable to move the animal, it died before the arrival of the Coastguard and Marine Life Rescue.

Mark Button, a local Coastguardvolunteer, insisted he'd never seen or heard of a long-finned pilot whale being spotted in the area before. Dolphins and basking sharks are usually spotted around the Gower but never normally whales, reports Wales Online.

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"We got paged to say that people had found a whale on the beach and we went to investigate," Mark said. "Three or four people noticed it in the swell and the tide was dropping back. Apparently four people tried to keep it alive by splashing water over it but sadly it passed before we got there."

Adi Armoni was among the group of people who tried to rescue the whale, which was first spotted at 2:30pm on Monday. Speaking to the BBC, Mr Armoni said: "We tried whatever we could, but it died in my hands after 15 minutes."

He added: "The tide was going out, and the longer we stayed there, the water went too far and we couldn't bring lift it. We realised we couldn't move it, so I suggested digging a hole below the head to help it breathe. The animal was too heavy, and conditions got worse."

The whale has since been collected by the British Divers Marine Life Rescue (BDMLR) and will now undergo a post-mortem examination. Typically found in the North Atlantic Ocean, long-finned whales range between 7.6m and 6m in length and they can grow to up to 4,500kg in weight.

A spokesperson from the British Divers Marine Life Rescue said: "We received a call regarding a whale stranding at Rhossili and dispatched BDMLR Marine Mammal Medics to the scene. Reports indicated that members of the public had attempted to refloat the animal back into the sea; however, further information confirmed that the whale had sadly died.

"As a result, BDMLR Medics were stood down, and our Area Coordinator attended alongside Marine Environmental Monitoring to secure the carcass for a post mortem examination. The whale was identified as a juvenile pilot whale."

Anyone who finds a marine creature in trouble is urged to call the cetacean rescue team on 01825 765546.