Two weeks ago, a group of rescuers put their own safety at risk in an epic rescue mission following Sri Lanka's biggest ever mass beaching of whales. A handful of short-finned pilot whales had washed ashore on the morning of the 2nd November on a beach near Colombo, and by dusk their numbers had swelled to over a 120. While authorities braced for mass deaths, volunteers from nearby villages joined members of the navy and coast guard to work through the night, battling crashing waves in the dark to pull the whales back into deeper water.
Pilot whales can grow up to six metres long and weigh a tonne so pushing them back into the surf was difficult and risky work. Much of it was done under headlights from jeeps, and at one point people started bringing in jetskis to tow the whales out beyond the wave breaks. The volunteers refused to give up and by the next morning had saved 120 whales. With only five whales reported to have died, it was one of the most successful rescue missions ever recorded.
Local environmentalist, Nayanaka Ranwella praised the workers for their resilience throughout the gruelling 16-hour mission. “Some rescuers had been in the water throughout the night. They were exhausted, but nobody wanted to quit until the mission was complete.”
