60 whales stranded on New Zealand coast

60 whales stranded on New Zealand coast
NELSON: A pod of about 60 pilot whales has beached at Golden Bay at the top of New Zealand's South Island, conservation officials said Friday.

One baby whale has died and there are fears for the others, which cannot be refloated immediately.

The stranding began in the early afternoon at Farewell Spit, about 150 kilometres (95 miles) west of the tourist city of Nelson.

About 100 department of conservation staff were working to keep the whales cool in the afternoon sun, spokeswoman Trish Grant said.

The next high tide was due around midnight but it would be too dangerous to refloat the whales then and staff would wait until the morning to carry out the rescue attempt.

Whale strandings are not uncommon in the area and Grant said she was hopeful some could be saved.