A whale, trapped in shallow water at Koh Libong in Trang’s Kantang district last Friday and struggled for three hours before swimming to freedom, has been identified as a blue whale (balaenoptera musculus). The 10-metre-long creature is estimated to have weighed two tonnes.

Dr Kongkiat Kittiwattanawong from the Phuket Marine Biological Center said it’s the first time a blue whale has been spotted in Thai waters.

Read more: The Nation