Ready to blow: Fears that sixty tonne blue whale carcass washed up on beach of tiny Newfoundland village could EXPLODE at any moment

• Carcass is rotting along the shoreline of a town on Canada's east coast
• Methane gas caused by decomposition could cause the animal to burst
• Emitting powerful stench that is spreading through the town of 600 people
• 60-tonne carcass could be carrying bacteria that can make people sick

The carcass of a blue whale is rotting along the shoreline of a town on Canada's east coast, triggering concerns from the community it could burst.
Emily Butler, the town clerk in Trout River, Newfoundland said the 28 yard blue whale is beached next to a community boardwalk and is emitting a powerful stench that is spreading through the town of 600 people.
She said she and others in town are concerned that the methane gas caused by decomposition could cause the animal to burst.

The carcass of a blue whale is rotting along the shoreline of a town on Canada's east coast, triggering concerns from the community it could burst

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There are now concerns that the methane gas caused by decomposition could cause the animal to burst

'We have a concern ...because I'm not sure with the heat and gases that are trapped inside of this mammal if at some point in time it will explode,' she said.

 

But Jack Lawson, a research scientist with Canada's fisheries department, said the risk of such a blast is 'very small'.
He said: 'At some point, the skin of the animal will lose some of its integrity as all of the connective tissue starts to break down.

 

Bloated whale causes unease in Canadian fishing town

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Emily Butler, the town clerk in Trout River, Newfoundland said the 28 yard blue whale is beached next to a community boardwalk and is emitting a powerful stench that is spreading through the town of 600 people

HOW GAS BUILDS IN DEAD ANIMALS

When an animal dies, bacteria inside the carcass produce methane as part of the decomposition process.
If this is not let out of the body gradually it builds up, exploding at the first opportunity.
Whales are the most extreme because their huge size makes the consequences of a gas build-up so much greater.
Living toads in Hamburg, Germany, started spontaneously combusting in 2005.
It was thought crows were picking out their livers, leaving a hole, so when the toads puffed themselves up as a defence mechanism, their whole bodies burst.

'Eventually, that gas will seep out....It will just deflate like an old balloon.'
Still, Mr Lawson said people should stay away from the 60-tonne carcass, which could be carrying viruses or bacteria that can make people sick.
'The risk will come from somebody with a sharp blade who decides they want to cut a hole in the side to see what happens, or if someone is foolish enough to walk on it,' he said.
He said he is aware of YouTube videos showing a bloated, beached sperm whale in the Faroe Islands that suddenly explodes as a scientist uses a large knife to cut open its underside.
'With this animal (in Newfoundland), it's highly unlikely that it's going to happen, especially spontaneously,' he said.
The scientist said large, beached whales can either be buried with heavy equipment or cut up and shipped to a landfill.

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Biologist Bjarni Mikkelsen tried to cut open a sperm whale carcass which exploded in his face in November 2013

Ms Butler asked for help from the province's environment and government services departments as well as the federal fisheries department to remove the carcass.
She said the town council considered asking fishermen to tow the mammal out to sea but concluded such a task would need to be supervised by someone with expertise.
'Nobody has been properly trained in the removal of whale carcasses of this size,' she said.
The whale is one of three beached along Newfoundland's west coast.