A decomposing whale carcass in Richmond that was causing a big stink for weeks was buried Thursday, much to the delight of nearby residents.
The dead whale originally was towed to an island off the Richmond shore by the Army Corps of Engineers, according to Mayor Tom Butt, but the carcass broke free and washed up on a beach along Sea Cliff Drive at Canal Boulevard on Memorial Day weekend.
"The smell is like a dead animal but multiply that by 10 and then add fish smell to that and then feces," resident Karen Stenberg said.
Stenberg, who lives right in front of where the carcass ended up, stayed in a hotel to escape the stench.
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"We don’t have air conditioning in these units," she said. "We literally can't be at our units, and nobody is doing anything about it."
Crews tried to remove the whale Wednesday but lacked the proper equipment, the mayor said.
The city on Thursday brought in a contractor with an excavator to bury the carcass on the beach.
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Butt said he was disappointed at the lack of help from federal agencies in disposing of the dead whale.
"I had a long talk with the Army Corps of Engineers and they basically said it's not our problem and they weren't going to do anything about it," he said.
