After a 20-hour rescue mission, a 65-foot whale that washed up on a beach in China was finally towed back to the water.

Recently, a huge whale was stranded in the city of Ningbo, south of Shanghai.

It was feared that if he was not returned to the water in time, he would die from dehydration.

Although whales breathe oxygen like land animals, they need water to prevent overheating.

Stranded whales are also at risk of collapsing under their own weight or drowning if high tide covers their blowhole.

Firefighters sent a rescue team, which sprayed water over the whale’s 20-meter body and built a pool of seawater to keep it alive.

Volunteers helped move the whale, which weighed approximately ten tons.

The whale was dragged into shallow water after the team tied it with guide ropes.

A tugboat was deployed to help move the whale further out to sea as the tide peaked around 10 p.m.

The whale was released into deep water after the rescue team broke the transport rope at 5:30 a.m. Wednesday.

Local media captured the authorities’ rescue operations as well as the successful release of the creature.

When dawn broke after the dramatic rescue operation, the whale could be seen swimming in the distance.