More than two-hundred and fifty pilot whales have died after becoming stranded on a beach in New Zealand.

They were among about three-hundred whales that were found on a beach in Stewart Island, off the southern tip of the New Zealand mainland.

Conservation officials say the remoteness of the site is hampering efforts to save the others.

This is the second such incident in the region in the past two weeks -- at least a hundred whales died after becoming stranded on beaches in Australia.