BREAKING NEWS: Dozens of whales have beached themsleves on Long Beach in Kommetjie (Cape Town, South Africa) Athorities have mobilized to try to save the whales, while hundreds of onlooks have gathered on the beach.

Nan Rice, head of the Dolphin Action and Protection group said 20 pilot whales were successfully rescued, but there was no alternative but to euthanize 34 others.

Braving high winds and rough waves, the rescuers tried to push and drag the three-meter (10-feet) whales out of the knee-deep water and back to sea, but often their struggles were to little avail. Most of the rescuers wore wet suits, but some rushed into the icy waters in normal clothes.

Authorities brought in six bulldozers to push the whales back into the water.

"As soon as we put them back into the sea, they swim back to the beach again," said National Sea Rescue Institute spokesman Craig Lambinon. "It's not a very easy situation," Lambinon said.

Photo Credit: africanpenguin

Update: I am sad to report that none of the whales survived.

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