Giant 40-foot whale carcass removed from Essex beach
Work has taken place to remove the carcass of a 40 foot whale that washed up on an Essex beach.
The giant marine mammal was swept ashore at Holland-on-Sea on Friday.
Pictures from the scene showed people watching on as the carcass of the animal, believed to be a fin whale, was cut up and placed into large containers.
It took the specialist team around five hours to remove the whale, and samples were taken which will be analysed to determine how the animal died.
The fin whale is the second-largest mammal in the world after the blue whale, and the British Divers Marine Life Rescue charity said the creature was "actually rather small for this species", and "therefore this animal is a juvenile".
Tendring District Council had asked people to keep their distance if going to the beach.
The authority said in a Facebook post on Friday: "We would ask all beach-goers to respect the cordon while the clearance work is carried out.
"We understand people may be interested and want to see the whale for themselves or watch the clearance work - we would remind people to observe social distancing and to avoid crowded areas as we are still in the Covid-19 pandemic."
On Friday, Essex Police wrote in a Facebook post: "Sadly a 40ft whale has been washed up on Clacton this morning.
"We are currently in attendance with other organisations and discussions are under way on how to remove her.
"The area is cordoned off and the public are advised to stay away."