More than 400 whales strand on New Zealand beach, most die

More than 400 whales have stranded on a New Zealand beach and about three-quarters of them have died in what authorities are describing as the worst whale stranding they've ever seen.
The pilot whales were found today at remote Farewell Spit at the tip of the South Island. It's an area that seems to confuse whales and has been the site of previous mass strandings.
Conservation workers and volunteers were hoping to refloat the surviving whales at high tide this morning.
Volunteer rescue group Project Jonah said a total of 416 whales had stranded and most were dead when they were discovered.

Department of Conservation spokesman Andrew Lamason told Radio New Zealand they were putting sheets and buckets of water on the surviving whales and trying to keep them calm.