Sea turtle caught in plastic is cut free from ropes and junk and swims off after rescuers spot it off isle of Majorca
- Locals Toni Miro and Miguel Nicolau came to the rescue of entangled turtle
- A man on a cliff by Soller beach had raised the alert after spotting it in the water
- Toni Miro said it took 15 minutes to cut the sea creature free from the ropes
This is the moment locals saveda floundering sea turtle after it was found caught up in a tangle of ropes and plastic off the Spanish island of Majorca.
In a video of the rescue, Toni Miro can be seen wading out to the turtle as it struggles in the crystal blue waters off the beach of Soller, in Port de Soller.
As his fellow rescuer, Miguel Nicolau, navigates a boat behind him and gets in closer to the sea creature, it becomes evident the turtle’s right front flipper is firmly entangled in a cluster of yellow ropes attached to two plastic bottles.
Local resident Toni Miro did not hesitate to jump in and help the turtle which was clearly floundering in the water
Mr Miro grabs hold of the turtle which is struggling to swim and begins the delicate operation of trying to set it free.
He can be seen in the video using a small pair of scissors to cut the ropes, while dodging the flapping turtle’s attempts to bite.
Mr Nicolau assists by holding onto the trapped flipper and the tangle of garbage.
The turtle is eventually freed and can be seen swimming away from the boat as the duo celebrate.
Mr Miro told local paper Ultima Hora the rescue took about fifteen minutes.
‘I jumped in, Miguel held it and after 15 minutes trying to get it out of there without hurting it and without being bitten we managed to cut the net and it left the scene.’
A close-up view shows the turtle with the tangle of yellow ropes around its right front fin and what looks like two plastic bottles attached
Miro uses a pair of small scissors to cut the tangle of plastic rope as his fellow rescuer mans the boat and tries to keep hold of the garbage attached to the flipper
It’s a delicate operation trying to cut the turtle’s flipper free from the plastic rope without getting bitten
Mr Miro said they had been alerted to the turtle by a man on a cliff above the harbour that there was something strange in the water.
They went to investigate and found the turtle struggling in the tangle of rope and plastic.
The video of the subsequent rescue, was shared on social media with many commenting on the good deed and calling for people to do better with their use of plastics.
Helena Macein Sancho wrote: ‘Thank God it found you guys! Good job.’
Lida Crespi said: ‘Reduce the use of plastic, no more excuses, thanks for helping it.’
The turtle swims away freely once its flipper is free of the tangle of plastic garbage
A 2018 report published in the Scientific Reports academic journal found that there was a one in five chance (20 per cent) of death for a turtle who ingested just one piece of plastic. This rose to 50 per cent if they ingested 14 pieces.
Meanwhile, in 2017, a University of Exeter survey of 106 marine experts, found that more than 1,000 turtles each year are killed after becoming tangled in lost fishing nets, plastic twine and other garbage in the sea.
Ninety-one per cent of entangled turtles are found dead with many having suffered serious wounds, amputated limbs or having been choked to death.