Hundreds of local residents from a tiny coastal village in the central province of Quang Ngai held a respectful burial ceremony on Tuesday for a large whale they had found stranded on the beach.

The whale, measuring more than 4m in length and weighing over 700kg, was in a critical condition and had sustained multiple injuries when fishermen discovered it washed ashore on Monday.

The villagers attempted to bring the whale, considered a ‘sacred animal’ by locals, back to the ocean, but their attempts were unsuccessful.

After the whale had passed they took the whale to a special area zoned for the burial and for paying respect to whales that wash ashore.

As per local custom, three years after its burial, the skeleton of the whale will be taken to a shrine, which fishermen will visit before they go to sea, in the hope that it will protect them against misfortune on the water.

Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!