It’s not every day a whale swims past your office. Not if you work in London.

Yesterday, we thought we’d spotted a hoax online report. The BBC reported that a whale had been spotted in the river Thames in the heart of the city. As the world soon discovered, this was no leg-pull.

Today, the world watched as a dramatic rescue unfolded. The whale was lifted onto a barge, and plans made to release it into the sea off Kent. BBC News 24 beamed continuous footage, showing the barge against London familar sights. The anchorman audibly sighed in disappointment when one of the vet’s said the whale’s release would be at nightfall.

Sadly, the whale seems to be fading fast, so it looks as if there won’t be a happy ending to this remarkable story.