Spanish Diver Risks Life To Rescue 40-Foot Long Whale Trapped In Illegal Fishing Net

Spanish divers rescued a 12-meter-long humpback whale caught in an illegal drift net off the Balearic island of Mallorca in a heart-pounding underwater rescue.

During the rescue, Gigi Torras, one of the divers, said that this was the “best ever” birthday present for her.

She likewise thought the enormous beast itself had made a small program of respect for her.

She explained it to Reuters as “It was like out of this world, it was amazing, just amazing.”

The sighting was just the 3rd time a humpback whale has been recorded in the waters around the Balearics.

The Palma de Mallorca Fish tank marine rescue center was called in after a ship spotted the distressed whale roughly 3 miles (4.83 km) off the island of Mallorca.

They found the whale totally entangled in the crimson netting, not able to even open its mouth.

After early efforts to cut the net from a watercraft were unsuccessful, divers from the Albatros and Skualo diving centers joined the effort and studied the water for a perilous 45-minute operation to remove the mesh with their knives.

Torras, the proprietor of the Albatrol diving ceter said, “The first 10 secs she obtained a bit nervous, you know, like bubbles everywhere, however then I don’t know, call me crazy but I believe she knew we were there to help her and she just relaxed and we started working from the front of her mouth backwards.”

” We kept reducing and cutting and she type of gave a little shake to get herself out of it,” Torras said

The animal lingered with the four divers for a while to gather her strength and even offered what appeared to be “a little thank you sign” before swimming off.

Wander nets were outlawed by the United Nations thirty years earlier due to the large number of other marine pets that they likewise catch in addition to the fish that are intended to be caught.