ANKARA

At least 100 stranded whales were rescued during an ongoing mass operation in Australia’s southern island state of Tasmania. 

Dozens of rescuers and volunteers, engaged in the country’s biggest incident of whale stranding, have succeeded in freeing nearly 100 whales on Tasmania's west coast, ABC News reported.

Local authorities at Tasmania’s Parks and Wildlife Service also revised the number of dead whales down to 350. Earlier, the number of dead whales was estimated to be between 380 and 450.

Expecting to save 12 more whales, authorities also raised concern over the rescue operation on the coast as heavy winds and rains continue.

“I think everyone’s tired and feeling the fatigue. They’ve been long days. The people on site working on the water are those doing it hardest,” incident controller Nic Deka said.

Earlier, a statement by the Department of Primary Industries, Parks, Water, and Environment said aerial surveying has detected an additional group of about 200 whales stranded further south in the Macquarie Harbor on Tasmania’s west coast.

This is one of the biggest mass beaching incidents in Australia’s southern island state of Tasmania.

“The additional whales were found seven to ten kilometers [6.2 miles] deeper into the harbor and are believed to be part of the same mass stranding event at [the town of] Strahan [in Tasmania's west coast]. This brings the total number of whales for the mass stranding to more than 450,” said the statement.