Rescue of stranded whales under way in east China's Zhejiang

HANGZHOU, July 6 (Xinhua) -- Nine whales stranded in coastal waters off east China's Zhejiang Province on Tuesday morning have been rescued with three others dead, local authorities said.

Six of the rescued whales are being rushed to nearby sites. Among them, two are being sent to a local coastal park, the Baisha Bay Park, another two to an aquarium, the Taizhou Ocean World, and two others to a seafood breeding company.

Meanwhile, the three remaining whales are also expected to find temporary shelter at the seafood breeding company.

Local police received a report at about 8:00 a.m. Tuesday of whales spotted hundreds of meters from the shore in Linhai City, Zhejiang. It has been speculated that the whales were stranded as it was too late for them to leave when the water receded.

The dozen stranded marine mammals are melon-headed whales, three of which lost vital signs before the rescue team arrived, the city's publicity department said.

It is not the fishing season in China, so the whales likely swam too close to the shore as there was no disturbance from noisy boat engines and more tempting food sources nearby, according to experts.

The local public security department and fishery department, as well as locals in the fishing industry, rushed to the site to aid the rescue.

The heat, the weight of the whales, and their location far from the coast have complicated rescue efforts, which are still underway.

Rescuers dug holes for the whales and poured water over them. They also used wet towels to keep the mammals damp, and erected sheds to protect them from the sun, said Zhu Yupeng from the law enforcement team of the city's marine and fishery bureau.

Approximately 150 individuals participated in the rescue.