'La Petunia' beach in Marbella, had a visitor earlier this week as a whale beached itself  from the depths of the Mediterranean. Weighing in at three tons and measuring some 15 metres in length, it was the largest whale ever to be seen off the Southern Peninsular of Spain, and is more commonly found in the Alborán Sea, the westernmost portion of the Mediterranean, lying between Spain to the north and Morocco to the south.

Thousands of people witnessed the record breaking whale on the beach. However the mood soon turned to upset, as it became clear that the animal was dying, and rescuing it would difficult. Marine experts in small boats desperately tried to return the whale to the sea, but due to bad health and sheer size, the odds were heavily stacked against them. After hours of hard work on Wednesday the whale sadly died.

Ignacio Trillo of the The Regional Environment Councillor said that an autopsy would be carried out to determine the exact cause of death. The last incident if this kind was witnessed last September, when a 14 metre long Finback whale, weighing an estimated 20 tons arrived dead on the beach in the Province of Cádiz.