'There she blows!' Horrifying footage shows washed-up sperm whale EXPLODING as biologist tries to cut up its carcass

  • WARNING GRAPHIC CONTENT: 45ft whale beached in the Faroe Islands
  • It exploded all over a museum worker who wanted its skeleton for exhibit
  • Cool-as-ice Bjarni Mikkelsen simply called it 'a little bit of a surprise'
  • People in the Danish community are still planning to use the remains
  • Faroe whaling is ancient but condemned by animal rights groups

By Dan Bloom

PUBLISHED: 07:14 EST, 27 November 2013 | UPDATED: 11:45 EST, 27 November 2013


It is a job no man would envy.

An unlucky biologist has been filmed trying to cut open a whale carcass - which exploded all over him.

The sperm whale was one of two which died this week after being beached in the Faroe Islands in the North Atlantic, captured on camera by the Faroese Broadcasting Corporation.

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A job that takes guts: Bjarni Mikkelsen tried to cut open a sperm whale carcass which exploded in his face

A job that takes guts: Bjarni Mikkelsen tried to cut open a sperm whale carcass which exploded in his face

Gruesome: By the time the worker on the Faroe Islands turned round to escape, it was too late

Gruesome: By the time the worker on the Faroe Islands turned round to escape, it was too late 

The creatures died after becoming trapped in a narrow channel, and residents of the 50,000-strong Danish community wanted to use the skeleton of one for a museum.

So it fell to unlucky Bjarni Mikkelsen, a marine biologist at the National Museum of the Faroe Islands, to cut open the carcass yesterday.

 

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He had never cut open a whale before so he approached the pungent 45ft corpse gingerly.

As soon as he began working, the gas trapped inside exploded, spewing tons of organs and guts into the air.

The main part of the huge blast just missed him.

He told MailOnline: 'The animal was more than two days old when we took it so we knew there would be some pressure on the inside, but nothing like what happened.

Easy does it: Marine biologist Bjarni Mikkelsen approaches the 45ft whale with an extra-long sharp knife

Easy does it: Marine biologist Bjarni Mikkelsen approaches the 45ft whale with an extra-long sharp knife

There she blows: Without warning a trapped pocket of gas in the carcass bursts, ripping the corpse open

There she blows: Without warning a trapped pocket of gas in the carcass bursts, ripping the corpse open

Within a fraction of a second the whale's insides burst out from the carcass, showering the biologist

Within a fraction of a second the whale's insides burst out from the carcass, showering the biologist

Organs: Mr Mikkelsen stands apparently stunned as the whale's insides fly into the air in front of him

Organs: Mr Mikkelsen stands apparently stunned as the whale's insides fly into the air in front of him

Shock: The whale's insides were flung for several yards across the beach in the Faroe Islands, North Atlantic

Shock: The whale's insides were flung for several yards across the beach in the Faroe Islands, North Atlantic

As the split-second explosion subsides the biologist begins to react and starts running away from the scene

As the split-second explosion subsides the biologist begins to react and starts running away from the scene

Not a whale of a time: The unfortunate worker spins on his heels as the worst of the explosion finishes

Not a whale of a time: The unfortunate worker spins on his heels as the worst of the explosion finishes

Tough work: Thankfully Bjarni Mikkelsen wore red overalls. The whale was one of two which became trapped

Tough work: Thankfully Bjarni Mikkelsen wore red overalls. The whale was one of two which became trapped

Tragic: The carcass still emitting gas. The whale had become trapped and was too heavy for locals to help

Tragic: The carcass still emitting gas. The whale had become trapped and was too heavy for locals to help

Gruseome history: The blast happened on the Danish Faroe Islands, which have a long history of whaling which has been called barbaric by animal rights activists. This whale's skeleton will be used in a museum

Gruseome history: The blast happened on the Danish Faroe Islands, which have a long history of whaling which has been called barbaric by animal rights activists. This whale's skeleton will be used in a museum

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.

And Royal funeral attendants hurriedly drilled a hole in the coffin of the overweight English king George IV to let out gases - after an apparent botched embalming job.

'We couldn't imagine it would happen like that so it was a little bit more of a surprise.

'It wasn't a shock. We had expected something. In the situation I was more worried about something worse happening or anyone getting hurt.

'We were cutting along the dorsal part of the animal so when it exploded it did so in a very controlled way.

'It was very loud, I suppose. It's something everyone here is talking about.'

Footage of the incident, which happened at 2pm yesterday, has already been seen on YouTube more than 300,000 times.

The islands are 200 miles north of Scotland but have been under the banner of Denmark for 200 years, after previously being ruled by Norway.

People on the Faroe Islands have been hunting pilot whales for centuries, but the practice has been condemned as cruel and unnecessary by animal rights groups.

Despite the gory incident, the locals are still determined to put the skeleton in their museum as a reminder of their culture, and they are already busy cutting up the remains of the carcass.

The whale's flesh will be thrown away.

Remote: A map showing the location of the Faroe Islands in the North Atlantic

Remote: A map showing the location of the Faroe Islands in the North Atlantic

Lying 200 miles north of Scotland, the Faroe Islands have 50,000 inhabitants but 700 miles of coastline and some of the highest sea cliffs in the world. Sperm whales dive deeper than any other great whale and swim far north

Lying 200 miles north of Scotland, the Faroe Islands have 50,000 people but 700 miles of coastline and some of the highest sea cliffs in the world. Sperm whales dive deeper than any other great whale and swim far north

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Payback for the islander's annual whale slaughter!

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Not a disgrace at all. They hunt and eat animals, anything special with that? And they only hunt whales that are not endangered. Animal rights activists makes me sick.

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Also, it is illegal to hunt endangered species in the Faroes, of course.

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Revenge of the whales!

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The whale was dead, and they did not kill it, infact it is illegal to hunt endangered whales i n the Faroes. Marine biologists in other countries including yours would do the same if they had to preserve a whale skeleton for a museum

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I showed this video to my husband, and here's what he said, "I wonder if it's physically possible for a human to run and vomit at the same time?"

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Wish that happened to a whaler on the edge of the boat instead.

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What the...?!?

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Feel a bit sick now

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The Shafiq of it!!

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I have the same problem with my sperm whale!

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Even a dead human being can bust open when pierced in the stomach.

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at least he was sideways and not in front of the exploding guts

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