Mass stranding of whales in Tamil Nadu - Nearly 100 whales wash ashore at Tiruchendur coast (Spot video and photos)

As many as 100 of whales were found on a 16 km stretch of the beach. (Video, photos below) Twitter pic

January 12, 2016, NewsCrunch

Fishermen are battling to save 100 beached whales at Tiruchendur, a coastal town in Tamil Nadu, 600 km from Chennai.

The animals initially thought to be dolphins, were later identified as short-finned pilot whales. A PTI report, however, said the animals were  baleen whales.
The stranded whales were first spotted on Monday late afternoon by fishermen. As many as 100 of them were found on a 16 km stretch of the beach.

Though the fishermen battled all night to push back the animals to the sea, 20 whales have already died and the casualty count is likely to climb steeply.

The Time of India quoted local fishermen saying a similar incident had occurred in 1973.