Tuticorin: Carcasses of 30 baleen whales were found washed ashore near the Tiruchendur beach early on Tuesday while 250 of the same species have been stranded in shallow waters, officials said.
Efforts are on to push the stranded sea mammals into deep waters even as a team of top officials of the fisheries department have rushed to the spot to conduct a probe.
"This is an unusual thing...a n unusual mortality incident, we have to find out the reason," Marine Scientist Velumani at the fisheries department, said.
WATCH: Around 50 Small Fin Whales beached in Tuticorin in Tamil Nadu since last evening, number of them dead https://t.co/lyC7aMDZxv
— ANI (@ANI_news) January 12, 2016 "There could be many reasons...navy sonars could have caused it...or pollution...the reason is not immediately known and we don't want to speculate," Assistant Director of Tuticorin fisheries department, Amal Xavier, said.
"We have to study the health of the stranded whales and also the eco-system. The study would require the help of oceanographic experts also," Velumani said.
