Thousands of ‘cold-stunned’ turtles returned to sea after brutal Texas storm

Thousands of turtles have been released back into the sea after they were rescued in Texas following a winter storm that swept through the state.

Last week, Texas faced freezing temperatures, which left millions without power and dozens dead.

The cold snap impacted residents and even the wildlife, as creatures struggled to swim or feed - resulting in a massive rescue mission to save them.

Footage from the Texas Sealife Centre has shown turtles being released down a wet slide into the Gulf of Mexico.

The organisation looked after almost a thousand of the marine creatures and around 200 turtles were released into the sea on Monday.

Another organisation, Sea Turtle Inc, also shared footage of thousands of sea turtles being released into the Gulf down blue wet slides.

“Sea Turtle Inc. was successfully able to release more than 2,200 previously cold-stunned turtles into the open ocean of the Gulf of Mexico,” the organisation said.

“We still have lots of work to do but we are rejuvenated with passion and having seen our first released turtles swim away. Thank you for your patience while we worked tirelessly overnight to get this work done”.

Sea Turtle Inc became overwhelmed with the number of turtles being brought in and thousands were taken to a convention centre located close by.

Ed Caum, executive director of the South Padre Island Convention and Visitors Bureau told Sky News: "Every 15 minutes or less there’s another truck or SUV that pulls up,"

Mr Caum said they’ve “collected” more than 3,500 sea turtles so far. Although he hesitated to use the word rescued because “we know we’re going to lose some”.

On Saturday, President Joe Biden declared a major disaster in Texas, allowing for more federal funds to be spent on relief efforts.

More than 7.9 million people in Texas in 202 counties are still having issues with their water supply as of Monday evening, a spokesman for the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality said.