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Stuck in Duck: Crowd cheers as humpback whale frees itself from sandbar

Posted at 3:37 PM, Jun 01, 2016
and last updated 2016-06-01 15:55:08-04

DUCK, N.C. -- A humpback whale was able to free itself after it got struck on a sandbar off the coast of Duck, North Carolina. A crowd gathered on the sand Wednesday morning and watched the grounded whale eventually get loose and swim back to sea.

"Thankfully [the whale] was able to set itself free and swim back to its pod!" Duck Director of Public Information Denise Walsh wrote on Facebook. "Other whales could be seen past the sandbar."

She two or three other whales waited in the water for the stuck whale to break free.

Walsh said the stuck juvenile whale was discovered at about 10:30 a.m.

Since this was an unusual occurrence in Duck, the town's Surf Rescue team called a biologist and the Marine Mammal Stranding Network for advice.

Some rescue members got close enough to see that the whale was still breathing and working to free itself.

When the whale broke free at about 12:10 p.m., those who gathered to watch along the beach let out a cheer, Walsh said.