Rescuers refloat 39 pilot whales

RESCUERS pushing and dragging whales managed to refloat 39 members of a beached pod during high tide yesterday as dozens of other whales lay dead on a remote island off southern New Zealand, officials said.

Locals joined conservation specialists in the race to rescue surviving members of a 159-strong pod of pilot whales stranded on Stewart Island, 25 miles off the south coast of South Island.

Rescuers poured seawater over the beached mammals to protect them from the afternoon heat.