Laurence Dollimore
THE corpse of a 15-metre whale has washed up on a beach in Spain as a brutal storm batters the country.
The animal was pictured in a state of decomposition on the shores of Galicia, specifically on Pampaido beach in Sanxenxo, reports Faro de Vigo.
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The regional Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change will be in charge of coordinating an operation to remove the corpse.
However, an autopsy will be carried out this afternoon to determine its cause of death.
A company called Gesuga will use a truck to remove the animal’s body from the area.
According to the Ministry, access to the beach is not easy and the situation has been further aggravated by the storm and high tides.
“At the moment it is difficult to estimate when the samples can be taken and the remains removed,” sources from the Xunta de Galicia told local press.
Meanwhile, in Fisterra, A Coruña, two dead dolphins were found washed up on a beach on Wednesday morning.
It comes as dozens of flights have been cancelled or forced to divert today due to hurricane force winds battering the country.
More than 40 flights have now been cancelled at multiple major airports, including Bilbao, Santander, A Coruña, Santiago and Vigo.
Bilbao has been the worst affected with 27 cancellations and 11 diversions as of the 3pm.
Vigo has seen six cancellations, Santiago five, Santander three and A Coruña two.
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The authorities in the Basque Country and other areas of the north have advised residents to avoid unnecessary journeys and to take extreme precautions, especially on roads, where the wind can create dangerous situations.
The south of Oviedo and Gijon are facing the maximum warning due to winds exceeding 140km/hr.
But according to reports, gusts of 205km have already been recorded in the north, including in Cantabria.
Meanwhile, most of the northwest is on an orange alert for similar conditions, including A Coruña, Lugo, Vigo, Pontevedra, Santiago de Compostela, Ourense, Leon, Bilbao, Burgos, Valladolid, Palencia, Zamora, and Salamanca.
The majority of the country is also under a yellow alert for winds and rain, including Madrid and the Balearic Islands, which face gusts of 70km/hr and 60km/hr respectively.
Joining them are; Segovia, Avila, Cuenca, Teruel, Albacete, Toledo, Caceres, Avila, Talavera de la Reina, Plasencia, Catalayud and parts of the northern Valencia coastline
