15 whales die beached in NZ, 33 lured to sea

WELLINGTON, New Zealand: Rescuers in New Zealand managed to coax 33 beached whales back out into deep waters yesterday, but another 15 of the pod died, a conservation official said.

The 48 pilot whales stranded Saturday at Port Levy on South Island, but scores of volunteers joined Department of Conservation workers to refloat them off the shallow, muddy inlet, said the department's community relations manager, Grant Campbell.

It was the third mass stranding on the New Zealand coast this summer. Some 125 pilot whales died in the two other beachings, while 43 were returned to the ocean.