Video emerges of whale dragging buoys behind it off Coogee Beach

A whale was caught in netting off Coogee beach on Sunday afternoon, with people managing to rescue it before dark. See the video here.

A whale caught in ropes spotted off Coogee Beach has been freed by NSW Police shortly before darkness fell on Sunday evening.

Water police tracking the animal managed to free it in a successful operation, with vision of the incident showing the Marine Command speeding after the whale and pulling at the rope attached to its tail in an effort to dislodge it.

Video emerges of whale dragging buoys behind it off Coogee Beach

A whale has been caught in netting off a beach in Sydney’s east. Picture: Katie Jackson

National Parks NSW earlier confirmed they’d received reports a whale had been spotted dragging floating buoys behind it at off the popular beach heading towards Clovelly at about 4pm Sunday.

Coogee is a popular whale-watching spot, with sightings of humpback whales frequent off the coast as they undertake their annual migration north along Australia’s eastern coastline is from May to November.

WHALE CAUGHT IN NET OFF COOGEE

At least one whale has been spotted off Coogee beach dragging floating buoys behind it on Sunday afternoon, setting up a race before darkness fall to assess the animal’s situation.

National Parks NSW confirmed they’d received reports a whale was caught in some sort of netting at off the popular beach heading towards Clovelly at about 4pm on Sunday.

A National Parks spokeswoman said the organisation was “confident it’s an accurate report” and was liasing with local partners, including whale rescue specialists the Organisation for the Rescue and Research of Cetaceans in Australia (ORRCA).

The rescuers are now in a race against falling darkness to assess the whale’s situation.

Video posted by a bystander on Twitter appears to show a man riding a jet ski some distance behind the whale as two buoys float through the water behind it.