Heroic locals save beached whale stranded in Phuket, Thailand

Heroic locals saved a beached whale that was stranded in Thailand.

The one-tonne endangered sperm whale was spotted struggling to move on the shallows by a lifeguard working at a beachfront hotel in Phuket island on June 17.

Marine rescuers were called to the scene and immediately checked on the whale’s health.

The animal was still alive but it had to be taken to a clinic for further treatment.

As the giant creature was too heavy, more than 50 locals, tourists, lifeguards and rescuers rushed to carry the whale into a van which took it to the vet.

Hotel officer Prachum Tantiprasertsuk said: ‘Our employees went to the beach to push the whale back into the sea but the waves were strong and the animal was heavy.

‘We were glad to be part of the rescue.

We hope that the whale would be better soon and the hotel employees and I will visit it at the Sireetarn Center as soon as possible.’ The 14.7ft-long whale had injuries on its eyes and scratches on its tail.

Its body, especially around the nose was stained with a black substance.

It was believed to have been harmed from the oil spill of a fire-hit cargo ship that passed by the region from Sri Lanka.

The whale was now in stable condition and will be monitored by vets at the Sireetarn Marine Endangered Animals Rescue Center before it could be released.

Whale sperms were listed by non-government organisation International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as vulnerable due to hunting.

It was the largest of the toothed whale and the largest toothed predator.