A fisherman had a shock after his bait was taken by a WHALE which then had to be rescued by beachgoers.
Jirayu Wanphusit, 34, was sea fishing from the sand when the false killer whale took his bait in Pattaya, Thailand, on Wednesday (November 21) night.
The creature dragged the line and pulled his rod into the water. But it was already wounded and unable to swim back to the deep water and was stranded on the beach.
Locals gathered round to help the 11ft long whale before vets from the department of Marine and Coastal Resources arrived and carried it into a truck for emergency treatment.
They gave the whale first aid and turned it away from the shore to avoid the bright light which is unusual for the deep sea creature while waiting for the move.
Lieutenant Kornkamol Kitikamara said that the whale had several cut wounds on its body which may have been from boat propellers. It also appeared to be frightened by the light.
Kornkamol said: "From the initial check, the whale has several cuts on its body but we could not identify the cause of them now.
"The whale was showing stress from the light and we needed to keep it calm before moving it to the department."
The whale was carried to the truck when it started to relax and it was taken to the Sea Turtle Conservation Centre to be nursed back to health.
