- A humpback whale, estimated to be between 12 and 15 metres long, successfully swam free from shallow Baltic Sea waters near the German port of Wismar late on Monday.
- After initially heading towards the harbour, the whale turned towards the open sea, with no new sightings reported as of Tuesday morning.
- This successful departure followed an earlier rescue attempt last week, where an excavator was used to free the whale from an underwater sandbank at Timmendorfer Strand.
- Despite the initial rescue, the visibly exhausted whale soon found itself in difficulty again, prompting officials to leave it undisturbed in hopes it would gather strength to swim away independently.
- Experts remain hopeful but cautious, noting the whale faces a monumental journey of several hundred kilometres to navigate the North Sea and reach the Atlantic Ocean, with no practical way to escort it.
IN FULL
Humpback whale trapped near German coast swims free after several tense days
