Photo shows firefighters working together to release the whale back to sea.
MIRI (May 24): Nine firefighters from Lopeng station worked together to free a whale, which was found stranded on a beach at Kuala Baram yesterday afternoon.
According to Miri Fire and Rescue chief Supt Law Poh Kiong, the operations room received a call about the incident at 4.15pm.
“Upon arrival, the Lopeng team commander reported that the whale, measuring about 4m in length, was spotted at a section of the beach.
“It was really a challenging operation, as the whale would swim back ashore after it was pushed out to sea.
This kept on going several times, and the strong waves did not help either.
“However, the team persisted and after several more attempts, they managed to release the mammal out to sea,” said Law in a statement.
However, he expressed concern about the whale’s chances of survival in that it already appeared very weak when the firefighters arrived at the beach.
“The left fin looked weak– every time it swam, it appeared to be heading left.
“The body had some cuts and scrapes, most likely incurred when the whale hit the rocks as it was swept over by the strong waves,” he described the mammal’s condition.
It is informed later that the local villagers spotted the beached whale at around 3pm and they did attempt to release it back to seas, but to no avail – prompting them to call the firefighters for help.