Authorities had already started operations to rescue survivors among some 270 whales found on Monday on a beach and in two sandbanks, near the remote town of Strahan on the west coast in the island state of Tasmania.
Another 200 stranded whales have now been spotted from the air, less than ten kilometers to the south, said Tasmanian Wildlife Parks and Services manager Nic Deka.
“From the air, they did not appear to be in a condition that would justify the rescue,” he added, explaining that “the majority seemed to be dead”.
Further evaluation should be done by boat, with crews being dispatched if the whales can be saved, he said.
About 30 whales were removed from the sand banks, but several stranded again, Deka said.
About a third of the first group died on Monday night and an update on the death toll and condition of surviving whales was expected by the end of today.
Tasmania is the only area in Australia that is prone to mass stranding, although it does occasionally occur on the Australian continent.
The biggest such incident in Australia occurred in 1996, when 320 pilot whales stranded near the town of Dunsborough, in Western Australia, in 1996.
This is the first in Tasmania since 2009 that involves more than 50 whales.
“In Tasmania, this is the biggest mass strand we have recorded,” said Marine Conservation Program biologist Kris Carlyon.
Rescuers remain optimistic about the possibility of releasing more whales, according to the same source.
In neighboring New Zealand, more than 600 pilot whales arrived on the South Island at Farewell Spit in 2017.
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