WELLINGTON: A beach in New Zealand wore of look of ‘whale island’ after more than 400 whales stranded on the seashore in what is being said as the worst recorded whale strandings in the nation’s history.

The pilot whales were found on Friday at remote Farewell Spit at the northernmost tip of the South Island of New Zealand, in an area that seems to confuse whales and has been the site of previous mass strandings.

After the mass strandings, volunteers were called in for the rescue operation. Their project general manager Daren Grover said about 75 percent of the original pod of 416 whales which stranded overnight had already died.

He said the 50 whales that were being monitored offshore were believed to be part of the original pod which stranded overnight, rather than a new pod.

There will not be another attempt to refloat the whales stranded on Farewell Spit until tomorrow, with volunteers working with 60 whales and monitoring another 50 offshore.

Hundreds of volunteers turned out to help with efforts to refloat the whales.

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