A group of villagers rescued a four-tonne whale after it got stranded on a beach in southern China.

In the video, captured in Zhanjiang City in Guangdong Province on June 13, more than a dozen men stand waist-deep in the sea to try to push the 13-metre-long Bryde's whale into deeper waters.

According to reports, the whale swam back to the sea but was found beached again and was confirmed dead.

Guangdong Ocean University said it would use the corpse for scientific purposes, according to reports.