Crisis 'over' as whales refloated

Hundreds return to the sea after three-day effort by volunteers

Whale rescuers were cautiously optimistic on Sunday that the current wave of mass beachings in New Zealand was over, after hundreds of the creatures died after being stranded ashore.

The crisis began early on Friday when a pod of 416 whales were found stranded on the 26-kilometer Farewell Spit, with hundreds more following them over the weekend.