A whale calf which got trapped in a fishing net off nearby Vedaranyam coast died as efforts by fishermen to save it failed, officials said today.
The 12-foot-long whale calf, weighing about a ton, got entangled accidentally in the net of four fishermen from Seruthur in Vedaranyam last night.
The fishermen tried to rescue it from the net in the sea itself. When they freed it after reaching the shore, it was found dead, they said.
Fisheries officials, on being informed by fishermen, visited the village.