TOKYO: About 150 dolphins beached themselves and became stranded on Japan’s northeastern coast, but frantic rescue efforts Friday saved just a few of them.
Mostly melon-headed whales or blackfish, the dolphins were found alive but were extremely weak and later died.
Television footage showed dozens of people carrying buckets and pouring sea water over the dolphins, or even covering them with bath towels, to keep them from drying up. The dolphins were wobbling and moving their fins as rescuers gently rubbed them.
The dolphins, between two and three metres long, were scratched badly, possibly from moving in the shallow coastal waters and on dry land.
The stranding occurred along about 10 kilometres of beach in Hokota, northeast of Tokyo.
