False Killer Whales washed ashore at Phuket's Racha Island

More than 30 False Killer Whales were stranded ashore off Koh Racha Yai island, Phuket province, 1 of them died. Marine officials, local villagers as well as some foreign tourists tried to rescue some of the whales by putting them on a trailer. See photos below.

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Staff of the Racha Resort and Ban Raya Resort and foreign tourists yesterday evening tried to help a herd of whales apparently identified as False Killer Whales which came ashore at Batoh Bay at Racha Yai Island. They put some of them on a trailer to another side of the island for first aid and helped them swim back to the deep sea. The herd of whales were spotted at around 6pm yesterday by villagers. Over 30 whales came ashore due to big waves and winds. Seeing that the whales could not swim back themselves, villagers then notified hotels. 20 of them swam back to sea safely, while one died on the beach and 10 of them were carried to a calmer beach. It took marine biologists and locals over 3 hours to help and transfer them. One however was injured and was put in a rubber boat to release in deeper water.

A marine biologist from Phuket Marine Biological Centre, Kongkiat Kittipatanawong, said this is the first time that a large number of such whales have come ashore here. He suspected that the leader of the group must have misled them to shore. The big waves prevented them from turning back to sea. The biologist will still keep watch this morning, to ensure all of them return to the deep sea, while the dead whale would be sent for an autopsy.