Spanish divers rescued a 12-metre-long humpback whale trapped in an illegal drift net off the Balearic island of Mallorca in a heart-warming underwater rescue.

During the rescue, Gigi Torras, one of the divers, said that this was the “best birthday gift” for her.

She also thought that the enormous beast itself had made a small show of respect for her.

She described it to Reuters as “It was like out of this world, it was incredible, just incredible.”

The sighting was only the third time a humpback whale has been recorded in the waters around the Balearic Islands.

The Palma de Mallorca Aquarium’s marine rescue center was called after a boat spotted the whale in distress approximately three miles (4.83 km) off the island of Mallorca.

They found the whale completely entangled in the crimson net, unable to even open its mouth.

After initial attempts to cut a boat’s net were unsuccessful, divers from the Albatros and Skualo dive centers joined the effort and went into the water for a dangerous 45-minute operation to remove the net with their knives.

Torras, the owner of the Albatrol dive center, said: “The first ten seconds she was a little nervous, you know, like bubbles everywhere, but then I don’t know, call me crazy, but I think she knew we were there to help. “She and she just relaxed and we started working from the front of her mouth to the back.”

“We kept cutting and cutting and she moved a little bit to get out of it,” Torras said.

The animal stayed with the four divers for a while to gather strength and even offered what appeared to be “a small token of thanks” before swimming away.

Driftnets were banned by the United Nations 30 years ago due to the large number of other marine animals they also capture in addition to the fish they are intended to catch.