Whale Stuck On Liner Dies From Injuries

A 54-foot fin whale became stuck in the bulbous bow of a luxury liner, was dragged into an estuary and died, port officials said Tuesday.

The Cunard Queen Elizabeth II docked in Lisbon early Monday with the 15-ton whale jammed into its bow. By the time port officials lifted it out of the water with a crane late Monday, the whale had died from its wounds.

“This is a very rare occurrence indeed,” Bill Spears, a spokesman for Cunard, said Tuesday from New York.

Lisbon Port Authority officials were trying to decide Tuesday how to dispose of the huge mammal.

“Burying it on land would be very complicated,” said Port Cmdr. Dias Cruz. “It could be given to a museum, which could use its skeleton.”

The last time a whale entered the Tagus River estuary was 16 years ago.