THE RESCUE OF a dolphin in Cork has come to a sad end after the mammal was found dead this morning.

Firefighters in Cork came to the rescue of the dolphin last night, after it became trapped in branches in the south channel of the River Lee.

Crews from Anglesea Street Station were called out to the incident after the alarm was raised by members of the public. 

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In a video posted to Twitter three officers can be seen entering the river, tethered to their colleagues on the bank to help the animal out of the branches.

The dolphin appears to remain calm throughout the ordeal and officers applaud as it swims away.

However this morning the fire service was called out once again only to find the mammal once again trapped in debris, not far from where it had been rescued in the early hours. It had become stuck and passed away.

The Zoology department of UCC will now take over and carry out a post mortem examination to find out what caused the animal to swim so far upstream.

Speaking to The Journal.ie Duty Officer with Cork City Fire Brigade Cathal Murray said there had been a joyous mood in the station this morning, with members of the public calling in to congratulate them on the rescue.

“There’s a huge connection between humans and dolphins, the officers overnight were so happy with the rescue and now it’s like a death, it’s a horror story,” Murray said.