NEW YORK (AP) — A wildlife official says an endangered whale has died after getting stranded on a beach in a coastal enclave of New York City.

Mendy Garron of the National Marine Fisheries Service says officials found the 60-foot finback whale dead Thursday.

The animal was first discovered Wednesday morning beached on the bay side of Breezy Point, a Queens neighborhood ravaged by Superstorm Sandy. The whale was alive but severely emaciated.

The whale later drifted away at high tide and washed ashore again Thursday morning.

Breezy Point is still recovering from the storm. It caused serious flooding and a fire that destroyed 100 homes.