Nantarika Chansue, director of the Sea Animal Diseases Control Centre, Faculty of Veterinary at Chulalongkorn University, said the operation would take place on Monday.

The turtle was rescued from Chonburi’s Sri Racha district and given its nickname.

“The turtle will have a 50 per cent chance to survive from this operation, but if we do nothing it will die within a few months because the large amount of coins in its stomach is rapidly weakening its health,” Nantarika said.

She said a CT scan showed there was a coin cluster about 20 centimetres in diameter inside the animal.

“Even if the operation is success, Ormsin will still have to be under extensive care for a while to recover its health,” she added.