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Workers on Thursday began the process of cutting up and carting off a 40-foot whale carcass that washed up at San Onofre State Beach in Orange County earlier this week, a California state parks official said.

Kevin Pearsall, a public safety superintendent for California state parks in Orange County, said the vendor began working around 8 a.m. Thursday to remove the carcass, a process that could take up to two days.

“We continue to recommend that everybody stay away,” said Pearsall, who has warned that the removal process likely will be gruesome and especially upsetting to children.

The whale died at sea before washing up Sunday near Lower Trestles, a popular surfing destination near the Orange County-San Diego County border. A throng of tourists and curious locals have swarmed the area in recent days as officials tried to figure out how to remove the giant mammal.

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