A Dutch kitesurfer unexpectedly came upon a stranded humpback whale as he was kitesurfing off the coast of the Netherlands last week. Ruben Lenten neared the Razende Bol sandbar at Texel and narrowly avoided a collision with the animal by “jumping” the whale, who has been stuck in the shallow water all week. While rescue attempts by the Netherlands Coastguard and marine workers have been made, a local official recently called for a halt to operations because of potential harm to the rescuers, reports the Dutch daily Noordhollands Dagblad. As of 4:26 p.m. December 12 (local time), the whale was still alive and still stuck.

Image screenshot of video from kuzak20 on liveleak