This is the heroic moment a beached orca whale was rescued in Crime.

Footage shows authorities using heavy equipment to free the killer whale, which had become trapped in a shallow inlet in the Sea of Okhotsk near the village of Ustyev in Kamchatka struggling to breathe due to the low tide on November 14.

Volunteers and inspectors from the State Inspectorate for Small Vessels manually poured water over the orca's skin to prevent further dehydration and damage.

It was then released into the waters near the river mouth, 10 kilometres from where it had been stranded. Authorities confirmed that the calf is now swimming freely in the Sea of Okhotsk.

Despite being called 'killer whales,' orcas are not whales but the largest species of oceanic dolphins. They are highly intelligent and social animals, often living in groups called pods, which can consist of up to 40 individuals.

They hunt cooperatively, and swimming in pods at high speed allows them to work together to herd, chase, and overwhelm prey, such as schools of fish, seals, or even large marine mammals like whales.