Beached whale found in NYC is dead

NEW YORK Wildlife rescue workers monitoring a beached whale in a coastal enclave of New York City say the 60-foot-long mammal is dead.

Mendy Garron of the National Marine Fisheries Service said Thursday that the endangered finback whale stopped breathing. The animal drifted away at high tide but then washed ashore again in the morning.

• Whale found beached in NYC

The Point Breeze Fire Department had been pumping sea water on the whale all day in order to keep it alive, CBS New York reports.



The whale was first discovered Wednesday morning stranded on the bay side of Breezy Point, a Queens neighborhood ravaged by superstorm Sandy. The whale was alive but severely emaciated. Biologists said it probably wouldn't survive.

A full necropsy will determine the cause of death, according to CBS New York.

Breezy Point is still recovering from the storm. It caused serious flooding and a fire that destroyed 100 homes.