An injured whale that was stranded in waters off Tai O in Lantau on Saturday has died despite efforts of veterinarians to save it, the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department said early on Sunday.

The department said that its staff and veterinarians from Ocean Park Hong Kong will conduct a necropsy on the carcass to determine the cause of death after an initial assessment showed that the whale had been injured.

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“During sedation administered for further diagnosis, the veterinarians found the whale in extremely weak condition. The whale subsequently died during the diagnostic procedures at around midnight on December 1,” the AFCD said in a statement.

The department said it first received a report from the police about a stranded whale in Yi O waters off Lantau Island on Saturday afternoon.

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By nightfall, the AFCD and the Ocean Park Conservation Foundation Hong Kong personnel had located the whale stranded in Tai O waters.

According to an initial assessment, the whale was about five to six meters in length and a wound was found on its body, the department said.