Blue Planet III finally arrived on Sunday night, giving viewers an intimate and often heartbreaking glimpse into life beneath the waves.

The celebrated natural-history series returns for the first time since 2017, with David Attenborough once again providing the narration after marking his 100th birthday earlier this year.

Following four years of filming, the opening episode explored tropical seas and centred on a humpback whale that died tragically after travelling across the globe in search of more suitable waters.

As the whale passed through the ocean, fish gathered around it. By the next morning, its body had been completely consumed.

The programme also highlighted the continuing effects of climate change on marine life, revealing how rising temperatures can cause coral reefs to become toxic.

Fans took to X to describe the episode as an emotional beginning, while many others celebrated the show’s ‘beautiful and mesmerising’ return.

The Daily Mail’s TV critic Christopher Stevens also hailed the opening as ‘extraordinary’. You can read his five-star review here.

They wrote: ‘Oh FGS it’s WAY too early in the series for a Humpback to be dying! You could have broken us in gently at least!

‘The camera work, lighting and David Attenborough’s voice create the most beautiful television. How anyone can watch this and not think we must do everything possible and more to preserve our planet; That poor whale;’

‘Oh no I’m too hungover to deal with dying whales;’

‘This man is incredible;’

‘Absolutely mesmerising television. Welcome back… Sunday evening sorted.’

Sir David has presented natural-history programmes for the BBC and other broadcasters since 1954, regularly travelling to remote locations to document some of the natural world’s most remarkable and unusual moments.

The original Blue Planet series premiered in 2001, with its second instalment following 16 years later in 2017.

MORE STORY: Inside FHM’s Wild Halloween Party: Racy Costumes and a Guest-List Snub

Earlier this year, the presenter looked back on his remarkable career in a one-off Netflix special released to mark his 100th birthday.

In 1978, the broadcaster travelled to Rwanda for a segment filmed for his show Life On Earth, where he was seen meeting a group of gorillas, including an up-close encounter with baby gorilla, Pablo.

Reading from the diary, David recalled the details of the moment he came face to face with Pablo. 

He admitted that the encounter was never ‘supposed to happen’ as they had originally travelled to Rwanda to film a small segment on opposable thumbs, before it was revealed they could meet with the gorillas.

David read: ‘We start the one-and-a-half-hour walk up the mountain. Slowly the nondescript bush transforms into the high altitude rainforest.

‘Long-branched trees loaded with cushions of epiphytes. Green ribbon-leaved ferns with wispy pallid Spanish moss everywhere.

‘We found a group of females and juveniles in a small clearing and to my astonishment, they allowed me to approach.’

Recalling the moment he met the gorillas, David continued: ‘I had to pause and exchange a deep-throated grunt. The reassurance noise meaning, “I’m here”.’

‘What I don’t say there is that this wasn’t supposed to be a film of meeting gorillas directly.

‘The function of the sequence was the importance of the thumb and forefinger, the opposable thumb and forefinger. We didn’t think we were going to be in touch with them.

‘I turned to look back at the camera, I felt a weight on my feet and I looked down, and there was little Pablo. I couldn’t talk about the evolution of the thumb and forefinger, I just sit back and let it happen.

‘Look at this lovely little creature. Absolutely engaging, you want to hug him. Just sheer bliss, really. Many people would think it was the most important sequence in that series, if not in my filmed life.’

‘I will never forget him or the impact he had on me,’ David concluded of Pablo

A $2 million private jet caused “cataclysmic” damage when it plunged into a Florida mobile home community, killing all nine people aboard and forcing hundreds of residents to evacuate.

The Bahamas-bound Learjet 60 crashed and erupted into a fireball near the entrance of the Greenacres mobile home community at about 1:25 p.m. Sunday. The impact left a large crater at the scene.

Despite the scale of the crash, Gov. Ron DeSantis and local officials said Sunday evening that there was no evidence anyone on the ground had been injured or killed.

The force of the impact scattered debris across a “significant distance,” prompting the evacuation of roughly 600 people from the adjacent community as federal investigators prepared to examine the wreckage.

“Obviously, this was a cataclysmic plane crash. It looked like a missile going down, it left a big crater on the side of the road,” DeSantis told reporters.

“There was a lot of debris that was spewed as a result of this crash,” the governor said. “As of now, we don’t have any reports of anyone who was on the ground, apart from the people in the plane, who were killed or injured as a result of debris,” he said.

“But the debris was significant, and it went over a pretty significant distance.”

Joel Flores, the Palm Beach County commissioner for District 3, said officials were focused on making sure displaced residents had shelter and food by nightfall. He also said nearby businesses would be “shut down for the near future.”

“Right now our priority is evacuating the adjacent community right behind. We have about 600 people that we have to make sure have shelter tonight, food,” Flores said.

Flores said he was also concerned that the mobile community’s main entrance had been completely destroyed, leaving county officials scrambling to establish alternate traffic routes.

YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE: Melbourne Woman Awarded Life-Changing Payout After Motorbike Crash

Shocking dashcam footage showed the jet plunging almost vertically toward the ground before exploding in a huge burst of fire and smoke.

“When you see that video, you know it’s a jarring thing … a massive explosion, debris going everywhere,” DeSantis said.

“And to have those people on board is really a tragic way to see people pass away. We should offer our thoughts and prayers to their family.”

Disturbing air traffic control audio captured the aircraft’s final moments, including a pilot heard saying, “holy f–k, we’re out of time.”

Rep. Debra Tendrich said fire rescue crews arrived at the crash site “immediately” and “did an incredible job.”

The National Transportation Safety Board told The Post that it had begun assembling a “go-team” to reach the scene Sunday night and Monday morning.

AccuWeather meteorologists reported heavy rain and thunderstorms in the area when the crash occurred, with rainfall rates estimated at about 0.25 inches per hour.

“The combination of thunderstorms, heavy rainfall and reduced visibility created challenging weather conditions in the area,” Alan Reppert, an AccuWeather senior meteorologist, said in a statement.

“What’s particularly important is that visibility could deteriorate significantly as heavier bands of rain moved through, meaning conditions were not necessarily consistent from one moment to the next,” Reppert said.

Authorities had not publicly identified any of the victims as of Sunday night.

The NTSB is expected to hold a press conference on the crash on Monday morning.

A Utah teenager who disappeared nearly a year and a half ago has been found safe in Oregon, bringing a nationwide search that lasted more than 500 days to an end.

Kylie Arellano, now 17, was last seen by her family on May 29, 2025, at their home in Garden City, Utah. She was 15 at the time.

Her disappearance prompted a broad federal and state investigation. Authorities followed dozens of unconfirmed sightings before locating and safely recovering her Sunday.

Oregon law enforcement officers, working with the FBI’s Salt Lake City field office and the Rich County Sheriff’s Office, recovered the teenager safely, according to a law enforcement news release.

Kylie was found with a 39-year-old man in Oregon. Authorities took the man into custody without incident.

“The FBI and the Rich County Sheriff’s Office have been actively investigating this case for more than a year and pursuing every lead received from across the U.S. and in other countries,” officials said.

“As this case is ongoing, no further information will be released at this time,” the FBI’s Salt Lake City field office said in a statement Sunday.

Federal authorities also acknowledged the assistance of Oregon State Police, the FBI’s Portland field office and the Utah Department of Public Safety.

“Tonight, local police in Oregon brought a minor who had been missing for a year and a half to safety, acting on information provided by our FBI Salt Lake City Field Office,” FBI Director Kash Patel told News Media.

KEEP READING: Ukraine Hit by Hacking Attack Sending Fake Radiation Threat Alerts

“We are grateful she can return home, and we will continue working with our partners to hold those responsible accountable,” Patel added.

“To anyone using gore groups to target and exploit children: the FBI and our partners are coming for you.

“We are using every tool at our disposal to combat nihilistic violent extremism, bring offenders to justice and protect America’s children.”

A law enforcement source said the suspect allegedly met the teenager on Snapchat before she disappeared.

Last year, Rich County Sheriff Dale Stacey said investigators had pursued reported sightings across several states. He urged the public to preserve any photographic or timestamped evidence.

Additional details about the investigation emerged in the days before Kylie was found.

Unsealed search warrants reviewed by KUTV on Oct. 29 showed that investigators had previously scrutinized Kylie’s mother, Stephanie Coleman, and questioned her about a 2024 allegation of physical abuse.

There were also questions about discrepancies involving missing text messages from the night Kylie vanished and suspicious marks in the home.

Coleman had denied having any role in her daughter’s disappearance or abusing her, providing timestamped “good night” text messages from May 29, 2025.

She said the marks were caused by an injured cat and maintained that Kylie had likely been groomed and lured away by someone she encountered online, the outlet reported.