The incredible rescue of a giant stingray washed up on a beach in Marseillan

The intervention is not common for sea rescue. At the end of the morning this Wednesday, December 23, a walker called the departmental center of emergency calls to report a huge stranded stingray on a beach in Marseillan, near the Dunes aid station. The operational center then launched a rescue operation.

3,40m wingspan

Nautical rescuers from Agde and Sète were sent there, to discover a magnificent mobula ray on the sand: 3.40m wingspan and 2.20m long and weighing around 150 kg. She had run aground, unable to get back to sea, but very much alive.

The goal was to bring this stingray a mile offshore using a jet ski.
– Sdis 34

The firefighters have been linked with marine environment experts to determine if it was viable. Very quickly, the rescue operation was launched. Objective: to bring it back to sea, one nautical mile, using a jet-ski and rescue boats for divers. Mission accomplished.

“Unforgettable”

“An unforgettable moment for our divers and of pure happiness “, commented this Wednesday evening on Sdis de l’Hérault (Departmental Fire and Rescue Service). “This kind of moment that feels good in this difficult period that gives meaning to life and our environment.”

The mobula, harmless to humans, feeds mainly on plankton and small fish, which it swallows thanks to its extended mouth. © Corbis
– Sdis 34

Nautical rescue services from Agde and Sète were sent to this Marseillan beach to carry out the rescue operation.
– Sdis 34