French authorities put down beluga whale stranded in Seine River

A beluga whale that strayed into the Seine River has been euthanised after it developed breathing difficulties while being transported by road to the coast, the local French authority said.

The Prefect of Calvados said on Twitter that they were sad to announce the death of the cetacean despite an unprecedented rescue operation for the beluga.

The four-metre 13-foot whale was spotted more than a week ago heading towards Paris and was stranded 130 km 80 miles inland from the channel at Saint-Pierre la-Garenne in Normandy.

Since Friday, the animal's movement inland has been blocked by a lock 70 km north-west of Paris and its health has deteriorated after it refuses to eat.

Early on Wednesday, it was removed from the water in the first stage of an ambitious rescue operation and placed on a barge under the immediate care of a dozen veterinarians.

It was then moved to a refrigerated truck to transport it to the coast. During the journey it developed breathing difficulties and was put down.

A seawater basin at a lock in the Channel Port of Ouistreham had been prepared to be prepared for the animal, which was due to spend three days there under observation in preparation for its release.

Isabelle Brasseur of the Marineland Sea Animal Park in southern France, part of a team sent to assist with the rescue alongside the NGO Sea Shepherd France, warned on Tuesday that the plan was not without risk.

She said he may have died now, during the handling, during the journey or at point B, in Ouistreham.