Overview
- Environment Minister Till Backhaus authorized the privately led bid on Wednesday, shifting control and liability to the initiators and clearing a rapid start.
- The team plans to free space under the flippers, raise the whale with air cushions, slide a support plane beneath it between two pontoon rafts, and tow it toward the North Sea or Atlantic on a long line to reduce noise.
- Experts still describe the whale as gravely ill with weaker breathing and suspected fluid in the lungs, and they had halted state rescue efforts on April 1 to avoid further suffering.
- Police tightened protections after repeated breaches of the safety zone, including a woman jumping from a ferry to reach the animal, and now escort local tour traffic near the site.
- Officials warned of false online fundraisers and manipulated content, as the group PixelHelper withdrew its court motion and decried politicization of the case.