Live stream included Rescue attempt for Timmy the whale drags on - transportation on Sunday at the earliest
On day 3 of the rescue attempt by a private initiative for the humpback whale off Poel, there is a lot of activity on and off the island. However, detailed information is scarce. How far will the campaign get today?
18.04.2026, 19:11
18.04.2026, 23:02
dpa
No time? blue News summarizes for you
- Today is the third day of a privately financed rescue operation for the Baltic Sea whale Timmy - see also the live stream at the top.
- There is no timetable for the operation. The authorities are securing the operation.
- Scientists doubt that the whale will survive.
Update 7.11 p.m.: The marine mammal has been "washed free", said vet Janine Bahr van Gemmert on the island of Föhr. However, it would "no longer be transported today".
According to Bahr van Gemmert, the sand under the marine mammal was flushed away from a floating dredger with the help of a pump so that the animal could then be lifted and towed away. The transport of the whale to the North Sea should actually have begun on Friday. The vet did not want to give journalists any further details about the planned course of the rescue operation.
The whale lay covered in cloths in waist-high water off the island of Poel on Saturday afternoon, as could be seen on live streams. Its exhaled breath rose up again and again. Helpers worked a few meters away from the dredger, and according to NDR information, divers were also deployed.
Update 4.26 p.m.: According to information from "Bild", there have been repeated delays in the rescue operation recently because permits were apparently missing. Changes to the plan must first be obtained from the authorities.
In the afternoon, helpers were again in the vicinity of the whale. A floating work platform partially approached the whale, but remained at some distance. The grab arm of the dredger moved. In the afternoon, a large hose of some kind was lowered into the water, noise could be heard and water was stirred up. Apparently this was a test flushing. According to earlier reports, the area around the whale is to be washed away so that it can then be lifted with air cushions.
In the meantime, divers have dived down to Timmy to examine his mouth. The rescuers suspect that there could be a net or a hook in the whale's mouth. According to a dpa photographer, the helpers were working on the animal's mouth in the afternoon. An "Bild" reporter reported that an object had been removed from Timmy's mouth. It is still unclear what kind of object it is.
Update 1.42 p.m.: The initiators of the ongoing whale rescue attempt off Poel say they are currently unable to provide any detailed information on progress - partly so that the team can work in peace.
"It's actually going quite well so far," Mediamarkt founder Walter Gunz, who is financing the campaign together with entrepreneur Karin Walter-Mommert, told the German Press Agency. According to Gunz, he could not constantly call on site so as not to bring too much unrest into the campaign.
Walter-Mommert told dpa: "Believe me, we have to keep our team's backs free at the moment so that they can work in peace." She referred to what she said were complex consultations with the relevant authorities.
This is causing a lot of work internally. For example, the application of cloths with zinc ointment to treat the whale's skin problems had to be applied for and approved every day.
On the third day of a privately organized rescue attempt for the humpback whale Timmy stranded off Poel, work continues on and off the island.
On Saturday morning, workers shuttled back and forth by boat between the nearby harbor in Kirchdorf and a work platform on the water, bringing diving equipment, among other things, to the deployment area.
Earlier in the day, members of the authorities equipped with binoculars had already sailed close to the whale on a police boat to observe the rescue operation. According to a spokesperson for the water police, the police boat was anchored some distance away.
The efforts to rescue the stranded whale continue.
Image: dpa
So far, the whale is still lying off the island of Poel.
Image: dpa
The efforts to rescue the stranded whale continue.
Image: dpa
So far, the whale is still lying off the island of Poel.
Image: dpa
If necessary, a rubber dinghy could be used to get closer to the animal. In the morning, the humpback whale was again rather calm in the bay. Its breathing could be observed at regular intervals from the water fountains. The day before, the animal had occasionally flapped its tail and pectoral fins and turned slightly back and forth.
DLRG also on site with inflatable boats
The German Life Saving Association (DLRG) had already come to Kirchdorf yesterday evening with a large contingent, according to a member, to provide support if necessary. He did not give any details. This morning, the DLRG began launching inflatable boats into the water.
Meanwhile, the private rescue initiative itself is keeping a low profile. Janine Bahr-van Gemmert, a veterinarian for small animals and head of a seal center on Föhr, referred several times to a planned press statement. Meanwhile, it remained unclear when and how this would be given.
According to earlier information, silt was first to be washed away in the area of the whale so that it could then be lifted with air cushions. A tarpaulin attached between pontoons - i.e. floating platforms - was then to be passed under the whale to raise it.
Several experts: whale's journey home impossible
Scientists, experts from authorities and employees of non-governmental organizations agreed after a comprehensive examination that the whale needs rest and that further interventions would cause massive damage to the animal. The humpback whale is disoriented and so weak and damaged that it will not make the journey home.
At first there were hardly any onlookers in the port of Kirchdorf this morning. However, Ali T. from Hanover was already there early in the morning. "I saw it on TV and I think it's kind of spectacular," says the 38-year-old. He had already arrived yesterday night, Friday, and had driven for several hours. "With charging stops and so on, about five hours," says the e-car driver.
He wants to stay until Sunday. "I have to go back to work on Monday," he says. "What fascinates me is that the whale was thought to be dead and that something is still happening." He hopes that the rescue team succeeds in transporting the whale to the open sea.
As has been the case for the past few days, onlookers are also standing behind the barrier set up near the village of Weitendorf-Hof. The whale can be seen better from there than from the harbor in Kirchdorf.
