200 more whales found off the Australian coast and the death toll from mass stranding is expected to rise

MORE PILOT WHALES were found stranded off an Australian coastline on Wednesday, bringing the total to nearly 500 in the largest mass stranding ever recorded in the island state of Tasmania.

Authorities have been working to rescue survivors from an estimated 270 whales found Monday on a beach and two sandbars near the remote west coast town of Strahan.

Another 200 beached whales were spotted from the air on Wednesday less than 10 kilometers to the south, said Tasmania Wildlife and Parks Service manager Nic Deka.

“From the air, they did not appear to be in a condition that warranted the rescue,” he said. “Most of them appeared to be dead.”

A further assessment of their condition would be conducted by ship and a crew would be dispatched to see if the whales could be saved, he said.

About 30 whales in the original stranding were moved from the shoals to the open ocean, but several were stranded again, Deka added.

About a third of the first group had died Monday night, and an update on the death toll and the condition of the survivors was expected later Wednesday.

Tasmania is the only part of Australia prone to mass stranding. It is the first to involve more than 50 whales in Australia’s southernmost state since 2009.

“In Tasmania, this is the largest (mass stranding) we have ever recorded,” said Marine Conservation Program wildlife biologist Kris Carlyon, adding that rescue teams were optimistic about the release of more whales.

With the cool weather helping, “We have a very good chance to get more out of that sand bar,” he added.