A group of fishermen living in extreme poverty in Yemen have found a rare treasure inside the carcass of a giant sperm whale that will turn their lives upside down.

It is reported that the group of 35 fishermen received an alert in the southern governorate of Aden of a whale carcass floating in the Gulf of Aden before they towed it ashore on a small boat.

In his report published in the British newspaper "The Independent", writer Adam Forest said that a group of fishermen had found 1.1 million pounds worth of ambergris, which is the "vomit" of whales used in perfumery.

vomit gold

One of the fishermen told the BBC: "As soon as they approached the whale's carcass, the smell was unpleasant and strong, and they had the feeling that there was something inside."

The citizen, who did not give his name, added, "They decided to retrieve the whale, drag it to the shore and cut it up to see what was inside, only to discover later that it contained amber, noting that" the smell was very bad.

In contrast, that whale extract was worth a fortune.”

Sperm whale has vomitus of gold or floating gold (Shutterstock Expression)

Amber, known as "vomit gold" or "floating gold", forms inside the intestines of sperm whales over many years to produce a gray or black waxy substance.

Amber is then used in perfumery to preserve the scent.

The fishermen from the village of Al Kheesa agreed to share the profits they would collect from the 127 kilograms of amber, before selling it for 1.1 million pounds, according to Middle East Eye.

radical change

The writer mentioned that one of the fishermen said that some of them decided to buy a house, while others are currently planning to marry after they were lifted out of poverty.

He explained that "30 million Yemeni riyals (85,000 pounds) is enough these days to build a house and get married, which is what most fishermen spend their money on."

Part of the money was distributed to other needy people in the village of Al Kheesa, which is inhabited by refugees from Hodeidah city in a war-torn country.

"Once the fishermen sold the amber piece, they helped the villagers with money and some families with medicine," said one of the villagers.

For its part, the United Nations estimated that 80% of the Yemeni population is vulnerable to hunger, years after the outbreak of the civil war.