More than 100 whales were rescued after becoming stranded on a beach in southwest Sri Lanka on November 2.

The pilot whales were stranded on a beach in Panadura south of the capital city Colombo, and local villagers defied a curfew to counteract coronavirus to attempt to rescue the whales.

Officials from the coastguard and navy then arrived to help with the rescue, which went on late into the night. Later Biologists and Police joined the rescue efforts and successfully rescued over 120 pilot whales as of November 3. Four of the whales died during the rescue operation.

Sri Lanka's navy said on Tuesday more than 100 whales had been rescued after becoming stranded on a beach on the island's southwest coast a day earlier.Villagers defied a novel coronavirus curfew to join the navy, wading into the breaking surf to push the small whales back into the sea at Panadura, south of the capital, Colombo.

Men waded into the breaking surf to push the small whales back out to sea on Monday while curious villagers gathered on the beach at Panadura, south of the capital, Colombo, to watch.


In September, several hundred whales died in shallows off the coast of Australia in its biggest stranding on record and one of the largest in the world.

More than 100 whales had beached on the Panadura Coast Yesterday. Villagers and volunteers have launched an overnight operation to save about 100 pilot whales stranded in the coastal city of Pandura in Sri Lanka. As news of the Sri Lankan stranding spread, officials from the coastguard and navy arrived to help with the rescue, which went on late into the night. Later Biologists and Police joined the rescue efforts and successfully rescued over 120 pilot whales. Four of the whales died during the rescue operation.

The phenomenon of whales getting stranded in shallow water remains largely a mystery to scientists. In September, several hundred whales died in shallows off the coast of Australia in its biggest stranding on record and one of the largest in the world.