A sperm whale helped back to sea by rescuers in Indonesia has been found dead 25km west of where it was beached for four days.

The 12m whale washed ashore near West Java's Karawang beach on Wednesday, attracting hundreds of onlookers in fishing boats who blocked rescuers from leading it to deeper water.

Pramudya Harzani, from the Jakarta Animal Aid Network, said today that rescuers found its carcass in Muara Gembong after dozens of navy divers and volunteers led the two-ton whale to deep waters late on Saturday.

The whale, a protected species, was weak, but spouted water and swam away after being pulled into deeper depths with 10 vessels, including a tug boat. It was bruised and scratched, apparently from spectators climbing on it.

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