The whale that swallowed much of the world's attention by swimming up Thames lost its battle for freedom despite a rescue operation of almost mythical proportions .
Its 48 hour voyage into the heart of the British people ended sadly when the whale died after suffering convulsions while being taken down the Thames towards the North Sea .
Rescuers had managed to lift the bottlenose whale onto a barge and transport it close to the mouth of the estuary where they were planning to release it. But the animal's condition suddenly deteriorated and its head started bobbing up down .
Mark Stevens a member of the team, said : "We turned the lights off on the boat as mark of respect when it died."
Brett Lewis , another member of the team on the barge , described the emotion he felt from close contact with the whale ,right up next to its eye . "When you're looking at animal that big and it's looking back at you, you wonder what it thinks, whether it knows the effort that everyone 's making for it . There were lots of tears."
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