A photo shows the carcass of a huge dead whale (left) in the port of the Sorrento, south of Naples, as it's being towed away by the Italian Coast Guards towards the port of Naples, were the cause of death will be studied.-AFP

The carcass of a huge whale has been recovered from the waters off southern Italy, the coastguard said Wednesday, calling it "probably one of the largest" ever found in the Mediterranean. The dead mammal was spotted in the sea on Sunday near the popular tourist destination of Sorrento by coastguard divers who were first alerted to the presence of a smaller whale, which has since disappeared into the sea.

The coastguard said it recovered the carcass overnight Tuesday and then towed the whale from Sorrento by sea to the port of Naples, where it will be analyzed by marine biologists and other experts looking for a cause of death.

This handout photo shows workers on an excavator preparing to bury the carcass of a giant 13-metre whale washed up on Batu Belig beach, on Indonesia's holiday island of Bali.-AFP

Whale carcass washes up on Bali beach

The rotting carcass of a nearly 14-metre (46-foot) whale washed up Wednesday on Bali beach popular with tourists. The conservation agency said it was investigating the death of the giant creature, which was first spotted in shallow waters near Batu Belig beach, north of Seminyak.

Curious onlookers gathered around the carcass but the strong smell of decay put many off, said one local. Bali conservation official Prawono Meruanto said the creature could be a Bryde's whale, and that its carcass was later buried at the beach using an excavator.

In July, ten smaller whales were found dead on a beach in Indonesia's East Nusa Tenggara province. Locals managed to get one surviving member of the pod back into the water alive. Cross-currents off beaches pose a danger to whales as they can get caught between reefs close to shore.-AFP