On Tuesday crowds turned out in the Pakistani city of Karachi to see a whale shark that fishermen found dead.

Fishermen said the 12-metre long whale shark was spotted 10 days ago floating in the Arabian Sea about 150km (93 miles) away from the port.

It took several cranes to lift the carcass out of the water. Whale sharks are the largest fish in the sea and the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources lists it as a vulnerable species.

Crowds swamped the harbour to catch a glimpse of the huge shark during the four hours it took to haul it out. Whale sharks continue to be hunted by some fisheries in Asia for meat and oil, although some countries have made this illegal.