Bid to rescue beached whale abandoned

Sea World crews have abandoned attempts to rescue a whale stuck on a sand bank on the Gold Coast.

Rescuers have spent all day trying to tow the stranded mammal out to sea after it became beached overnight.

A crowd of dozens filled Palm Beach to watch as ropes used to try to move the 15-tonne leviathan snapped three times, Brisbane Times reports.

This afternoon, as the tide rose, the whale reportedly flipped, which was hoped would help it start moving off to sea.

But as the sun began to set shortly after 5pm (AEST), crews packed up to end rescue attempts for the night, Nine News reporter Carrie Greenbank said.

"Onlookers have rushed to the water, to the stranded whale, saying they're trying to save it themselves," Greenbank wrote on Twitter.

Authorities were alerted to the whale by a resident about 7pm yesterday.

"It's pretty dangerous This animal is probably around 15 to 20 tonne," Sea World spokesman Trevor Long told the ABC.

"Once the tide starts to come in ... you can't really get close to the animal because it could roll, it could lift its tail."