FORTY-SIX PILOT WHALES DIE AFTER STRANDING THEMSELVES ON BEACH

Forty-six whales stranded on a beach on the Indonesian island of Madura have died, while rescuers managed to push three back out to sea.

A rescue effort was launched on Thursday after dozens of pilot whales beached. Volunteers pushed some back out to deeper water.

“But some came back here, trying to find their mothers, though it turns out the mothers are dead,” the governor of East Java said.

Video footage on Friday showed whales dotted across a wide area with local residents wading in ankle-deep water, some trying to splash water on them or move them.

The dead whales will be buried on Saturday.

Whale Stranding Indonesia, a non-governmental organization, says in 2020 more than 70 marine mammals were found stranded, including dugongs.

JUNI KRISWANTO / AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES Rescuers on Friday attempt to save a short-finned pilot whale beached in Bangkalan, on Indonesia's Madura island.