Efforts are under way in the Wadden Sea to save a humpback whale which has become stranded on a sandbank near Texel.

Marine research centre Ecomare has begun a rescue mission to return the 12-metre whale to open sea.
The whale has become trapped in the shallow waters of the Wadden Sea but Nos says rescuers have high hopes of a successful initiative because high tide is on its way.
It is extremely unusual for whales to strand on sandbanks, Ecomare say on its website.