Six killer whales have been rescued after washing up on the shore of a popular beach – with locals using ropes to pull them back into the water.
The incident took place in the town of La Caleta in the department of Mar Chiquita in the eastern Argentine province of Buenos Aires.
Rescuers and volunteers worked to successfully return the killer whales to the sea in Argentina
Only one of the seven orcas died at the scene thanks to the rescue. This man stands next to the killer whale that did not survive
Crowds of people gathered around the whale as they worked together to push it back into the sea through the waves
The incident took place in the town of La Caleta in the department of Mar Chiquita in the eastern Argentine province of Buenos Aires. Volunteers used ropes to pull the stranded whales back into the sea
The video shows crowds of people gathering around the whale as they work together to push it back into the sea through the waves.
Other videos taken at the scene show the whales washed up on the shore unable to swim back into the sea because of the shallow waters.
Tourism and environmental secretary Flavia Lagune said: ‘Thanks to everyone’s cooperation and quick reactions, we managed to send six orcas back to sea. Sadly, one of them died.
‘We worked for many hours to return the marine animals back to their habitat.’
She added that experts believe the killer whales became disorientated and entered shallow waters where they then became stranded.
Tourism and environmental secretary Flavia Lagune said: ‘Thanks to everyone’s cooperation and quick reactions, we managed to send six orcas back to sea’
Argentine Naval Prefecture spokeswoman Anibal Moya said that staff assisted with the rescue operation
The most important element of the rescue operation was to keep the orcas hydrated while using ropes to drag them back into the sea
Six of seven orcas stranded in the beach in Mar Chiquita were returned to the Atlantic Ocean with the help of the firefighters, lifeguards and experts
Experts believe the killer whales became disorientated and entered shallow waters where they then became stranded. Pictured: volunteers work to return a whale to deeper waters
Another expert added that the reason the whales became stranded was because climate change affects the tides
Argentine Naval Prefecture spokeswoman Anibal Moya said that staff assisted with the rescue operation, adding: ‘It was a very difficult task.’
Juan Lorenzani, coordinator of the Argentine Fauna Foundation, said that the orcas were probably a family.
He added: ‘They follow a matriarchy as the female dominates’.
However, he confirmed that it is currently not known what made the seven killer whales wash up on the shore.
He said: ‘There are two main reasons. One, they somehow became disorientated. Two, it was caused by climate change affecting the tides.’
The most important element of the rescue operation was to keep the orcas hydrated while using ropes to drag them back into the sea.
The body of the dead whale has been removed and is currently being analysed to establish its cause of death.