A 25-tonne humpback whale beached near Rio de Janeiro has died after several failed rescue attempts.

Rescue teams hoped a high tide would help them free the animal, which became stranded at the popular Brazilian tourist resort of Geriba.

But shallow waters hampered their efforts, and after two days of unsuccessful attempts to tug the 12m long animal from the sand, the whale died just after midnight on Wednesday.

Biologists said the whale was probably heading to Antarctic waters after traveling to warmer Brazilian waters to mate.

This was the 90th whale to wash ashore on Brazil's southern coast this year - an unusually high number that is puzzling marine biologists.