Volunteers to work through the night to keep 12-metre beached humpback whale alive until high tide brings a final chance to save the animal's life

  • A humpback whale has been stranded on the NSW coast for 12 hours now 
  • Rescuers and vets said it is too dangerous to move the whale at night 
  • They believe it was on its annual winter migration when it became stuck
  • Volunteers will use Saturday's high tide to move the whale 

By Matilda Rudd and Sam McPhee For Daily Mail Australia

Published: | Updated:

Volunteers will work through the night to help a 12-metre long humpback whale stay alive until high tide on Saturday morning. 

The humongous whale has been stranded for more than 12 hours now on Sawtell beach near Coffs Harbour with rescuers and vets frantically trying to keep it stabilised in the shallows.

While there is a high tide on Friday night rescuers won't be able to get close enough to the whale in the dark. As such they will wait until the next tidal rise at 8:25am on Saturday before taking further action.

Volunteers are set up on the shore of the beach to monitor the whale overnight.  

Lawrence Orel from National Parks and Wildlife Service said there is a small chance the whale may be able to re-float itself tonight, reports the ABC.

 ORCCA said: 'Vets and authorities took the decision to end the poor animal's suffering, as its condition was deteriorating'

Rescuers are working desperately to free a humpback whale that has become stranded at a beach on the New South Wales north coast

 ORRCA thanked NPWS, Marine Magic, SeaWorld and all of locals who assisted in trying to rescue the stricken animal (pictured)

The whale has now washed onto very shallow water as the tide goes out, further complicating the situation

'That's always a possibility and if that's the case that is obviously the best outcome if the animal self-frees itself,' Mr Orel said.

'However at this stage we expect we may be providing it assistance tomorrow morning.

'We will look to see what will be the best option to try and re-float this animal.. when conditions are safe enough for everyone involved.' 

Beachgoers spotted the whale, weighing about 10 tonnes, in the surf early on Friday and it washed closer to shore about 7am

The whale, believed to be one or two years of age, continues to be rolled upside-down by the surf which is making the situation more difficult for rescue attempts and for the mammal to breathe 

 Rescuers and volunteers stayed on the beach overnight to monitor the whale after rescue groups and a vet battled bad weather at the site on Friday

Surfers spotted the animal at around 7am on Friday morning and a large group of up to 50 locals have gathered to help move the whale during high tide

The vet does say the mammal is in 'reasonable condition' but even when they tow it out to sea with a powerboat in the morning the whale only has a 50/50 chance of survival. 

Surfers spotted the animal at around 7am on Friday morning and a large group of up to 50 locals gathered to help move the whale during high tide. 

The whale, believed to be one or two years of age, continues to be rolled upside-down by the surf which is making the situation more difficult for rescue attempts and for the mammal to breathe.

Footage of the creature shows it is stranded in just waist-deep water which further complicates the rescue until the tide goes out.

The 12-metre whale beached itself at Sawtellon Friday and was clearly distressed as it continually smashed its tail in attempt to get free 

The 12-metre whale has beached itself at Sawtell and is clearly distressed as it continually smashes its tail in attempt to get free 

'It's still gasping for breath you can see the air coming out of every now and then but there's nothing I'd say you can do for it. It's very sad,' an onlooker told the ABC. 

The Department of Parks and Wildlife have attended the scene and are helping efforts to free the whale.

A spokesperson said they are confident they will be able to save the humpback and will conduct a health assessment once they have moved it to deeper water.  

'We haven't got heat working against us, so we'll be able to look after that whale, even for a couple of days,' Susan Crocetti from NSW Wildlife said.

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