Trapped whales rescued again

Rescue workers successfully herded a pod of pilot whales out of Kolgrafarfjörður fjord, West Iceland, last night. About 60 whales are believed to have been trapped there yesterday, for the second day in a row. They had been herded out of the fjord by rescue workers the night before, after becoming trapped in the shallow fjord, but returned yesterday morning.

This time, the whales were herded, not only under the bridge that lies over the fjord, where the current is strong, but much farther out into Breiðafjörður bay, past Oddbjarnarsker skerry, which is about 15 km (9 mi) east of Flatey island. From there, the pod was seen swimming northwest. The rescue work was over by midnight.

The blue dot shows where the whales were last seen.

The blue dot shows where the whales were last seen. map.is

Twenty-five people took part in the rescue effort, 22 rescue workers and three police officers in four boats. Einar Strand, regional manager of ICE-SAR (the Icelandic Association for Search and Rescue) in Snæfellsnes, told mbl.is that should the whales return once more, the situation will have to be reassessed.

This morning, he confirmed that there is no news of the whales since last night, but added that rescue workers will be standing by, should they return.

The pod of pilot whales in Kolgrafarfjörður fjord.

The pod of pilot whales in Kolgrafarfjörður fjord. Photo/Vilhjálmur Sveinsson

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