The 19ft (5.5m) northern bottle-nosed whale that became stranded in the River Thames has died as rescue teams tried to take her back to her natural habitat in deep sea waters. The whale was first surfaced in the river on Friday 20 January and rescuers began an attempt to save it on Saturday morning. They used a crane to lift the whale out of the river in central London and onto a barge, but the whale died hours later. It was moved after being placed in a special pontoon near Battersea Bridge. The officials who initially examined the whale said it was in generally good health, but had suffered some skin abrasions. A veterinarian involved with the rescue operation told the whale was convulsing before it died, and the doctor had considered euthanizing it.

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