A 12-metre-long blue whale was found stranded on the coast of a small village in eastern Indonesia on Monday morning (November 4), prompting a desperate rescue effort.

The fishermen of Airei village, of Ambai island district, Yapen Regency, Papua, found the whale alive but with injuries to its tail, fins and back, believed possibly to have been inflicted by whalers.

According to a local resident named Chris Waromi, the fishermen of the area found the whale stranded near the shoreline when they first began to take their boats out, at around 4:00 am local time.

The fishermen who found the whale immediately notified the residents in the local village to help the evacuation process of the lost creature.

Despite efforts of the local residents they were unable to shift the whale despite trying three times. Local officials then attempted to tow it out to sea, but it returned to the shallows on its own.

At time of reporting the whale is still alive but preparations have been made in the event it should die in the coastal waters off Airei.