Rescued turtles released in tearful farewell

Rescuers have waved an emotional farewell to a rare turtle that was washed up on Jersey.

The loggerhead turtle, named Crush, was flown to the UK after being found lifeless on a beach on 19 January following Storm Goretti.

After six months recuperating at Weymouth's Sea Life centre in Dorset, she was released into the North Atlantic off the Azores, along with two other loggerheads, Eden and Tiree, who were rescued on the west coast of Scotland in 2025.

Her carer, aquarist Victoria Goodier, said the release on Tuesday evening went "perfectly", although there were "definitely some tears" from people on the boat.

When she was found, Crush was malnourished and suffering from hypothermia, so was flown to Southampton so she could receive specialist treatment at Weymouth.

She was cared for alongside Tiree, who was found on the west coast island of the same name in November.

Eden, who was found in a similar state on a beach at Troon in October, was cared for at Brighton Sea Life, which is home to the UK's first permanent rehabilitation centre dedicated exclusively to sea turtle recovery.

Deva Edge, of Sea Life Brighton, was among those on the boat for the release.

"Honestly, it was one of the best moments of my life," she told BBC 5 Live.

"We were all bawling on the boat afterwards. It's very bittersweet.

"You definitely form very strong attachments but it's the best goodbye possible."

Speaking on BBC Radio Solent's Dorset Breakfast show, Goodier said: "Crush and her friends all swam beautifully off into the ocean.

"She's got a satellite tag on so hopefully we will be able to track her for the next few months to see her journey.

"As long as that tag stays on, we will be monitoring where she is, but once the tag comes off or stops sending us information, that will be it.

"We won't ever see her again."

Joe Williams, curator at Sea Life Brighton, said there had been "a lot of anxious moments and a lot of adrenaline" but the release went "as well as we could have ever dreamed of".

"All three of them have gone back out into the blue," he said.

The turtles were flown the 1,500 miles (2,500km) in special boxes and were monitored throughout the journey before a period of quarantine at the Aquario do Porto Pim in Faial.

When Crush was found by a dog walker, she was cold-stunned - a hypothermia-like condition that causes the turtle's body to shut down.

She was initially cared for by New Era Veterinary Hospital in Jersey, including two weeks at clinical director Peter Hawarth's family home, before he flew to Southampton, carrying her in a box.

Loggerhead turtles can be found in the subtropical waters off north Africa and it is believed Crush was swept north by storms and currents.

The species is classed as "vulnerable" on the IUCN Red List. There are an estimated 2,000 breeding females worldwide and out of every 1,000 hatchlings, on average, only one makes it to adulthood.

It is not known if Crush is female but rescuers called her "she" because, like other females, she has a larger tail.