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Next rescue attempt on Sunday!To deeper water! Helpers dredge a channel for stranded whale Timmy
Helpers stand in close proximity to the whale.
Philip Dulian/dpa
Half is already done!
A dredged channel is intended to help the humpback whale get out of the waist-high water of the bay in which it is stuck. It is questionable whether and when this will succeed. The 110 meter long route should be completed by Saturday morning (April 25th). However, the helpers do not yet have the green light for the rescue plan.
Whale should be lifted into the channel with a net
On Sunday or Monday, the private whale helpers want to free the humpback whale stranded in the Baltic Sea from its plight. The 110 meter long, ten meter wide and two meter deep channel should be ready by Saturday morning, it is said.
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It should lead from the whale's berth to the deep fairway, as the entrepreneur in charge of the dredging work, Fred Babbel, said on Thursday evening (April 23). 40 meters have already been completed, so another 40 meters will follow on Friday.
The twelve-ton marine mammal is currently lying in an artificially created hollow. This became necessary because the water level has dropped in the past few days and the animal was in danger of being crushed by its own weight. According to Babbel, so that the whale can get out of the hollow into the channel, it should be lifted with a net.
No green light from authorities yet
However, the team did not yet have the green light for the plan from the Ministry of the Environment that evening. Some work still needs to be done on the concept, said Babbel.
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The whale, which is around twelve meters long, has been stuck in the Kirchsee Bay on the island of Poel for around three weeks. The private rescue initiative, which is financed by Mediamarkt founder Walter Gunz and entrepreneur Karin Walter-Mommert, wants to bring the whale back to the Atlantic.
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By barge into the Atlantic?
According to a team employee, the initiative's new plan envisages transporting the humpback whale into the Atlantic using a so-called barge. This is an approximately 15 meter wide, lowerable barge that does not drive itself but is towed by tugs. The barge is to be brought from the Hamburg area to the island of Poel.
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The initially favored solution with pontoons and a tarpaulin in between was rejected because, according to the Ministry of the Environment, among other things, the necessary approval for maritime transport was missing. It is unclear whether the humpback whale will survive the rescue attempts. According to experts, he is severely weakened. (okr/dpa)
Sources used: dpa
