Beached whales die in New Zealand

Rescuers tried to refloat the stranded whales

About 40 pilot whales have died after becoming stranded on a New Zealand beach, a spokesperson for the conservation department has said.

Rescuers and local residents were able to save 40 others and herd them back into the safety of the sea.

New Zealand has one of the world's highest rates of whale strandings.

According to records, more than 5,000 whales and dolphins have beached themselves on the country's shores in the past 160 years.

The plight of the pilot whales prompted a community rescue effort by residents of Ruakaka Beach, about 140km (85 miles) north of Auckland.

'Swimming strongly'

"People seemed to come out of the woodwork from everywhere," firefighter Ben Trial was quoted as telling the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

Conservation department spokeswoman Sioux Campbell told the Associated Press news agency that by early afternoon the rescued whales were "starting to swim strongly" out to sea.

Dozens of whales died on New Zealand's Ruakaka beach

She said boats were patrolling nearby to encourage them to continue heading out to sea rather than return to the beach.

"The real concern is that they might come back and strand. It is really quite common for pods to restrand so we are hoping it won't happen," Ms Campbell said.

Ms Campbell said plans were being worked out to bury the dead whales.

No explanation

Dozens of stranded pilot whales were shot dead in January in New Zealand after it was ruled too difficult to get them back in the sea.

The biggest recorded mass stranding on the New Zealand coast involved 1,000 pilot whales on the Chatham Islands in 1918.

Experts say they are unable to explain why the mammals swim into the dangerously shallow waters.