Rescuers struggle to free ice-trapped killer whales

Rescuers armed with power saws hacked through the ice near Russia’s far eastern territories today in a desperate bid to save the lives of four killer whales thrashing about in confined holes in the freezing Sea of Okhotsk.

Dozens of volunteers from the island of Iturup, among the disputed Kuril chain that lies off the northern Japanese island of Hokkaido, ventured onto the ice 295 feet from the coast to try to widen the holes to enable the killer whales to move freely.

Russian television reported that more than a mile of thick ice separated the giant animals from the open sea.

Of a group of six killer whales that got into the ice trap several days ago, two of the biggest have died. The other four animals were bleeding from their heads and fins from trying to break through the ice.

“They’ve been offering them fish, but the whales have been through a lot of stress and they are refusing food. We are hoping that the wind will change and move the ice toward the open sea,” local fire chief Yevgeny Sadovsky said

Temperatures have dropped to minus 2C (minus 13F), making the rescuers’ task harder. A vast slab of ice has formed along the coast, blocking the whales from the open sea.

The mammals cannot move under the ice because they need air to breathe.