45 whales die on shores in southern India

In a tragic incident, some 45 whales that washed up on a beach in the seaside town of the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu late Monday night died Tuesday.

"Over 100 small fin whales had been washed up on the beach in Tuticorin. While 45 whales died on the shores, nearly 40 have been rescued and pushed into the waters," a senior government official said.

Many of the whales were in fact injured by corals and rocks, and so could not survive the ordeal and died, he said, on condition of anonymity.

Animal rights activists say that the whales appeared disoriented and may have come from the Pacific region where it is summer now.

This is the first time that so many whales have been beached on the shores of India in the recent past. Enditem