星空传媒

A whale in Thailand has died after eating more nearly eight kilograms worth of plastic bags and packaging.

Jatuporn Burutpat, director-general of Thailand's Department of Marine and Coastal Resources, told CNN that locals found the male short-finned pilot whale on May 28 off the shores of the country鈥檚 Songkhla province.

He said veterinarians and volunteers worked to save the whale for several days as it vomited small pieces of plastic.

for a local whale conservation group, ThaiWhales, described the scene as rescuers tried to help the animal. The group said the mammal could barely swim and couldn鈥檛 open its mouth.

During a necropsy, veterinarians pulled more than 80 plastic bags weighing 7.7 kilograms from the whale鈥檚 stomach.

Plastics debris found in the ocean is becoming a growing problem around the globe. More than 7.2 million tonnes of plastic is dumped into the ocean every year, a group raising awareness of plastic pollution.

Burutpat said the Thai government will bring the issue up during World Oceans Day on June 8.

With files from CNN