This archive report was first published on 3 August 2019.
On a remote beach near Gardur, Iceland, a group of 50 pilot whales became stranded, sparking a massive rescue effort.
According to Icelandic media, locals took the initiative to start rescue efforts before emergency teams arrived, with around 90 volunteers working through the night to keep the whales wet.
"Around 90 volunteers worked all night to keep the animals wet," said David Mar Bjarnason, a spokesman for the Icelandic research and rescue association.
By 08H00 GMT, the last of the surviving whales were back in deep water, thanks to the combined efforts of locals and emergency teams.
"We had to wait for high tide to get them back into the sea," Bjarnason explained.
The incident is the latest in a series of mysterious whale strandings in Iceland, with 52 dead whales spotted on a remote beach in the west of the island nation just last month.
