An endangered sea turtle was rescued by fishermen after being shot through its neck with a harpoon.
Three fishermen found the hapless sea turtle trapped inside a cast net while they were fishing near Koh Kut island in Trat, eastern Thailand last Monday (August 12).
The turtle had been stabbed in its neck with the sharp spear from a fishing harpoon.
The fishermen then untangled him and brought him onto the boat.
Footage from the afternoon shows one of the fishermen holding the injured animal while the others were pulling the long spear out of the injured turtle's neck.
The creature was released back into the sea a few moments later as the fishermen did notice and heavy bleeding from the would.
Police believe the harpoon spear might belong to a local, who shot the turtle while diving to catch fish.
Koh Kut district sheriff Chatchai Thongli has asked local fishermen and tour guides to report anybody seen attempted to hurt or kill the animals.
The chief said: ''Officers of Marine Conservation Center believed that the harpoon was fired from a fishing gun, which was not used by local fishermen in the area.
''Sea turtles one of the preserved marine animals in Thailand, so we'll ensure that such an incident would not happen again in the area.''
There are seven different species of sea turtles. The IUCN Red List classes them all as either endangered or vulnerable, apart from Flatback turtles which lack data on their numbers.
From the video, it is not known which type of sea turtle it is that was rescued.
