Australia attempts to rescue hundreds of stranded pilot whales

Police officers are seen on a boat near stranding whales in MacQuarie Heads, Tasmania, Australia in this picture obtained from social media dated September 22, 2020. RYAN BLOOMFIELD /via REUTERS

SYDNEY (Reuters) - Rescuers were trying to refloat hundreds of whales stranded on a sandbar off the remote west coast of the Australian island of Tasmania on Tuesday, hoping to end one of the country's worst beaching events.

Government scientists estimated about 90 of around 270 pilot whales trapped in shallow water had died since the stranding was reported a day earlier.