12 whales put down in Scotlandmass stranding

LONDON: A dozen whales that survived a mass stranding this week off the northeast coast of Scotland had to be put down, a British marine life rescue charity has said.

Seventy-seven long-finned pilot whales were found washed ashore on Thursday, with 65 already dead, by the British Divers Marine Life Rescue (BDMLR) in the Sanday island of Scotland´s Orkney archipelago.

“Sadly the remaining 12 pilot whales have been euthanised due to their condition deteriorating from the many hours they have spent stranded on the beach”, the BDMLR said in a statement late on Thursday.

Having been at the beach for a long time led to “crush injury from their own weight and the high likelihood that they have inhaled water with the incoming tide”.

They had also sunk deeper into the sand when the tide washed over them and were unable to refloat themselves, the charity added.

“There are no obvious indications as to why they all stranded,” the statement said, adding that the organisation would try to recover as many of the whales as possible for post-mortem examinations.