Buenos Aires, Aug 4 (EFE).– Navy and Environment Secretariat personnel are working with whale experts Tuesday to lead a lost whale out of the dikes on the River Plate in Buenos Aires and into open water, Argentine officials told EFE.

The young humpback whale, which is seven meters (about 23 feet) long, got lost on Monday in the waterway.

Rescuers using motorboats are trying to guide the marine mammal into open water and expect to complete the operation later in the day on Tuesday, Environment Secretariat officials said.

The whale surprised residents of the upscale Puerto Madero district, where it appeared swimming among sailboats on Monday, drawing hundreds of curious residents to the river.

“Its health does not appear to be the best,” Fundacion Cethus president Miguel Iñiguez told the TN television network on Tuesday, adding that the whale appeared to be “skinny.”

Fundacion Cethus specialists are working to help lead the whale to open water.

The whale may have become disoriented while searching for a migratory route to the northeast, Iñiguez said.

Marine traffic has been restricted on the river since Monday. EFE