'Every minute counts' in stranded whale rescue attempt

Rescuers who have been trying to free a whale stranded in shallow water off the north German coast have said "every minute counts" as they battle to release the animal.

Sven Biertumpfel, of the Sea Shepherd marine conservation group, told Sky News if they cannot get it off the shore "it will probably die there, because it's exhausting for the whale". Asked how long the 10m (33ft) humpback whale, thought to be a male, has left to live if it stays stuck, he said it can take "up to one week or even longer" for an animal that size to suffocate.

The whale is marooned off the Timmendorfer Strand beach on the Baltic Sea coastline of the Schleswig-Holstein region, where rescue efforts began on Monday. As for how the whale came to be in the area, Mr Biertumpfel said the Baltic Sea is not a humpback's natural habitat, adding "maybe he followed some fish or some food".

The water has less salt than the North Sea or the Atlantic Ocean, meaning it's "bad for the skin.