People urged to stay 300 feet away from Rockaway Beach amid explosion warnings

Officials are urging people at a New York beach to stay 300 feet away from the shoreline on Friday.

The warning comes after a massive 40-foot dead whale washed up on Rockaway Beach in Queens this week.

The alert comes amid fears the carcass could explode, as gases produced during decomposition continue building inside the animal’s body.

Experts say that as bacteria release methane gas inside the whale, pressure can build until the body swells and eventually bursts.

A dead whale on a beach can explode anywhere from a few days to a couple of weeks after death, depending on environmental factors. 

‘The best way to assist these animals, and keep them and yourself safe, is by calling trained responders and maintaining a 150-foot distance from dolphins and porpoises and a 300-foot distance from whales,’ said the Atlantic Marine Conservation Society (AMSEAS), which is coordinating the removal of the carcass with the city’s parks department. 

‘It is important to remember that whales in the surf are still dangerous, even when deceased,’ AMSEAS stated.

The organization is set to conduct a necropsy examination today in hopes of uncovering the cause of death.

AMSEAS said on Thursday it received reports from an aerial survey team about a whale carcass floating offshore approximately 15 miles south of Long Island.

The organization also confirmed the mammal was the same one observed floating off the shore on Wednesday and identified it as a Sei whale. 

Sei whales remain endangered after their numbers were heavily depleted by commercial whaling in the 19th and 20th centuries.

The incident comes amid growing concern among scientists about a rise in whale strandings and deaths along the Atlantic coast in recent years. 

While whales washing ashore is not unusual, strandings have been tracked more closely as environmental conditions in the ocean continue to change.

Marine biologists say large whale strandings have remained elevated along the East Coast for several years.

 Federal officials have previously declared ‘Unusual Mortality Events’ when clusters of deaths occur, particularly during winter months.

Experts say causes can range from natural factors to human-related threats such as ship strikes or fishing gear entanglement, though it is often difficult to identify a single cause for any individual death.

As investigators examine the latest carcass, responders will look for signs of injury or environmental stress that could help explain the whale’s death and provide insight into broader patterns affecting marine mammals along the East Coast.

While it is unknown how long the carcass has until it explodes, Californian boaters in 2023 captured the event in real-time. 

A group of whale watchers spotted what appeared to be a lifeless humpback in the Pacific Ocean.

The boat pulled alongside the carcass, spewing water from its mouth and gas trapped in the abdomen vacated, triggering an eruption of its internal organs – including its spleen, small intestines and stomach.

The event allowed the dead whale to sink slowly to its final resting place on the deep-sea floor. The clip was first posted on the Ozzy Mans Video Licensing account, which credits Shayne for capturing the moment.

The humpback in the video began to sink after the gas was released, but its body is too large for it to likely land on the seafloor intact.

National Geographic reports that entire communities will grow around the carcass.

Swimming scavengers will first appear, including sharks, which will tear off the tissue and break up the body.

Then, creatures that feast on bones will arrive to finish the job – but the entire body will not disappear for at least another 30 years.