Carcass of whale burnt

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Local fishermen and firefighters had a tough day after the putrefied carcass of a nearly 150-tonne whale beached on Saturday morning at Muthalappozhi near Anchuthengu.Firefighters and fishermen wrestled with the carcass for a tiring 12 hours before the carcass was cut up and burnt in a huge pit around 10 p.m. Local people had spotted the carcass of the whale near the shore and alerted the Fire and Rescue Service units at Varkala and Attingal, the nearest ones, by 8 a.m.Firemen then joined fishermen in the attempt to drag the dead mammal above the waterline using thick ropes. After this failed, more fire units were called in from Thiruvananthapuram city.“It was really tough. The whale must have weighed at least 150 tonne, and it was in a rotten state. Death must have occurred at least one month ago,’’ said M S Suvi, station officer of the Chenkalchoola unit, who arrived at the spot around 3.30 p.m. Finally, the whale, the exact species was not identified, was dragged on to dry land after darkness had fallen.It was cut up using the hoe of a bulldozer. A massive pit had been dug by then. “It took about 25 of us to drag the jawbone alone into the pit,” Suvi said.