'Hold her up so she can breathe and press her belly,' the diver is advised

A Romanian diver acted as a midwife when he tried to help a dolphin to give birth.

The amazing footage was taken off the Black Sea port city of Constanta in south-west Romania.

Images show the diver Pascale Roibu in the water holding the weakened pregnant dolphin as another man on the shore shouts instructions.

The man on shore can be heard saying: 'All you have to do is press its belly and get the baby out.

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Diver Pascale Roibu holding the weakened dolphin and helps it give birth to its calf near the city of Constanta

'Hold her up so she can breathe and press her belly.'

The diver follows his directions and holds up the dolphin whilst trying to pull the calf out.

The water is visibly dirty and the disorientated dolphin had ended up bobbing among the ships docked in the port.

Mr Roibu tries to get the baby out for various minutes. The man on shore warns him, saying: 'Watch out, don't hurt the calf!'

Finally the baby pops out and the onlookers celebrate the successful operation but tragically, both the mother and little dolphin died a short while later.

Witnesses believe the mother was already injured and both she and her baby were already too weak by the time they were found.

Marine biologist Razvan Popescu Mirceni said: 'It is clear that this animal was already considerably weakened as its protective layer of fat had become very thin, which was confirmed by the autopsy.

'The female was unable to withstand the birth and, as it had not been able to hunt for a long time, her calf was severely malnourished.'

Mr Roibu, the diver, said on Facebook: 'I had to act as a midwife for the dolphin. Such a shame it ended so tragically!'