Today's Edition
BERLIN (AFP)
A private rescue attempt for a whale stranded off Germany's Baltic coast has entered a "decisive phase," officials said Friday, with the sea mammal showing more activity than in recent days.
The 13.5-metre humpback whale's ordeal first began in late March when it was spotted stuck on a sandbank near the city of Luebeck. It first freed itself only to become stuck again, further east along the German coast.
Earlier this month, officials said they expected the animal to die, saying it had been too weakened by the odyssey to survive and make its way back to its natural habitat in the Atlantic.
However, on Wednesday, a last-ditch rescue effort proposed by two entrepreneurs was approved, set to involve lifting the whale using inflatable cushions and transporting it with pontoons.
On Friday, Till Backhaus, environment minister for the state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, said that the rescue had entered a "decisive phase" and that the whale would have a "chance" at survival.
The rescue team was seen approaching the whale near the island of Poel to take preparatory steps, as the animal showed an increased level of movement, including flapping its tail out of the water.
Backhaus said he was "pleased" that the whale was "in a better condition than some had suspected."
The rescue team say they are proceeding cautiously so as not to further distress the whale and that they can't say exactly when it might be lifted.
