Thirty false killer whales beached in Thailand; most saved

0 Comments | AFP, June, 2008

PHUKET, Thailand (AFP) — Thirty false killer whales swam ashore on a beach near the Thai resort isle of Phuket, but local residents and hotel staff saved all but one of them, a marine official said Friday.

The whales, which were up to 4.2 metres (nearly 14 feet) long, beached Thursday on Racha Island in the Andaman Sea, said Wannakiat Thubthimsang, director of the Phuket Marine Biological Center.

Residents and hotel staff rushed out to carry them back into the rough seas, he told AFP.

Ten whales had to be loaded onto trucks and carried to another beach less than a kilometre (mile) away, where calmer waters made it easier to return them to sea, he added.

"One of them died from shock," Wannakiat said.

Scientists weren't sure why the whales swam...