A stranded pilot whale was shot dead after desperate attempts to save it from the River Thames estuary.
The female pilot whale and her calf were reported stranded in shallow water off Canvey Island in Essex.
The fire brigade and a team from the South Essex Wildlife Hospital were called to the scene.
Vets, marine biologists and divers were called in and an operation was launched to assess any injuries to the whales and get them into deeper water.
The hospital said the whales are thought to have been part of a pod of nine, seven of which had already died after a previous stranding in the area two days ago.
A specialist mud rescue team and other experts struggled into the early hours in a bid to save the whales.
Det Chief Supt Morgan Cronin said: ‘This is something no police officer wants to do. Our emergency service partners had been working tirelessly to save the whale and I want to thank them for their efforts.’
‘Sadly, when it became clear to a specialist vet that this wasn’t going to be possible, they determined the most humane thing to do was prevent it from suffering any further and it should be euthanised.
‘They also determined the chemicals that would usually be used could pose a risk to other wildlife should they get into the water, so another approach was needed.
‘It is a hugely regrettable thing to have to do but was in the best interests of the whale and I want to thank the public for their understanding.
The South Essex Wildlife Hospital team said they were distressed and saddened that they had been unable to save the two whales, and upset by claims on social media that they hadn’t done enough.
A spokesman added: ‘Outcomes like this are crushing for all involved. It has been a somber morning for many of us, especially with comments about what could or should have been done circulating on social media.
‘Please bear in mind that those involved tried every option open to them and we would have done anything possible to change the outcome if we could.
Wildlife photographer Rosie Barrett, who works for whale charity ORCA, said in a Facebook post that she was devastated. She said that large whales were rarely seen along the coast of Essex.
Ms Barrett, who was called to the scene, said: ‘I knew it was unlikely to be a good result as pilot whales are notoriously difficult because they tend to strand in numbers and all animals have to go out together otherwise they will continue to re-strand due to their tight family bonds.’
‘The teams involved worked really, really hard but sadly it wasn’t the result we had all hoped for with both individuals dying. It’s really frustrating to see comments on public posts about how the situation should have been dealt with and how we could have done better.’
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‘No-one wants this outcome! But rescuing and refloating a large cetacean isn’t easy like some seem to think. Where they were was a very difficult location for them to be rescued from so please, stop with the speculations. I am heartbroken and don’t need to read it. I just really wish it could have been a better outcome. Devastated.’
Elsewhere, another pilot whale died on a stretch of beach between Brook and Isle of Wight Pearl near Brighstone after being found by dog walkers yesterday morning.
British Divers Marine Life Rescue and the Coastguard crews were called and tried to help it return to deeper waters, but sadly they were unsuccessful and it had to be put down.
After unsuccessful attempts to retrieve the whale’s body, the council confirmed it was removed on Sunday morning when the tide was low.
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