Town in western Newfoundland worries that beached blue whale will burst

TROUT RIVER, N.L. – A small town in western Newfoundland is concerned that a beached blue whale that is rotting along its shoreline next to a boardwalk could explode.

Emily Butler, the town clerk in Trout River, says the 26-metre long mammal is emitting a powerful odour and she’s concerned about the possibility of gas expanding inside the animal to the point where it will burst.

The whale is one of three beached in small communities along Newfoundland’s west coast near Gros Morne National Park.

Butler says she’s asked for help from the province’s Environment and Government Services departments as well as the federal Fisheries Department in removing the whale.

The two provincial departments were unavailable for comment Tuesday.

The federal Fisheries Department has said the onus of moving beached whales usually falls to municipalities and then the province, which must obtain a special permit from the department to remove them.