Humpback whale freed from anchor and rope near Australia's coast

Rescue crew frees whale from anchor and rope A crew from Australia's Sea World Foundation disentangle a humpback whale that was towing an anchor and rope.

A 10-metre humpback whale that was towing an anchor and rope was freed of its unfortunate load during a rescue operation off Australia's Gold Coast on Monday.

A rescue team from the Sea World Foundation was called to help disentangle the marine mammal.

Sea World explained the team "managed to grapple a large buoy onto the trailing rope which put enough pressure to remove the anchor and rope from the whale’s tail fluke."

The operation was "challenging," Sea World said in a Facebook post, adding the whale was swimming at a pace of eight to 10 knots.

After rescuers completed a visual inspection to ensure all equipment was removed, the whale, which only had superficial wounds to its tail, was left to continue its migration.