A beluga whale which had strayed into the River Seine has died despite attempts to rescue it on Wednesday morning.
The 4m (13ft) whale had been stuck in the river, north-west of Paris, for a week amid growing concerns about its health.
It was removed from the river, with a giant net, on Tuesday night, and transferred to a barge where a dozen vets were waiting to treat it. It was later transferred to a refrigerated truck for transport to a saltwater pool in Normandy where there were hopes it would recover before being released into the sea.
However, just before 11am on Wednesday the team caring for the the whale said it had had to be euthanised after developing breathing difficulties.
