A foul scent wafted through the air as the decomposing, 33-foot-long mammal floated in a west coast fjord, Aftenposten reported Wednesday.

Tore Haug of the Norwegian Marine Research Institute in Bergen, north of Korsneset, warned emergency crews trying to tow the completely white cadaver, which weighs several tons, that gases in the whale's stomach could erupt, causing a massive, stinky blast.

"It would be quite unpleasant if the stomach blows up," Haug told the Web site bt.no. "It's not very nice to have rotten whale parts showering over you."

It is unclear where the whale came from or when it died.

"We don't want to risk having it wash ashore under any circumstances," Per Stiegler, operations leader of the Hordaland Police District, told news bureau NTB.

The police, Coast Guard, Bergen officials and marine researchers were also trying to sink the whale.

They hope to find a way to dispose of the whale by the end of the day.