SYDNEY: Australian officials on Thursday began planning the grim task of disposing of almost 400 whale carcasses as hopes faded there would be many more survivors of one of the world’s biggest mass strandings of the mammals.
Rescuers had managed to free around 70 of the long-finned pilot whales beached off the country’s remote southern coast by Thursday afternoon. The majority of those freed had reached deeper water, officials said, but four were likely to be euthanized and others might return when the tide turns.
The clock was ticking for the remaining 20 whales still floundering in shallow water on a wide sandbank, four days after the 470-strong pod was first spotted off the northwest coast of the island state of Tasmania.
“Beyond the next 24 hours, any remaining animals that are alive will be less viable,” said Nic Deka, the incident controller for the state government’s Parks and Wildlife Service.
As result, authorities were developing a plan to dispose of at least 380 whales at sea, an operation that Deka said could take days.
“Our preference is for disposal at sea, we’re still taking expert advice as to exactly where the drop off point may be,” Deka said, noting the decomposing whales could pose an environmental health risk.
Marine biologists warned the task would be tricky.
“Dealing with over 400 dead whales is a real problem,” said Vanessa Pirotta, a marine scientist at the Macquarie University. “(It) would have to be very far out.”
The stranding, the biggest on record in modern Australia, has drawn attention to a natural phenomenon that remains largely a mystery to scientists.
A rescue team of more than 60 government scientists and volunteers had dashed to the remote location, braving freezing cold waters in an arduous refloating process. As many as four or five people per whale were needed to attach slings to the animals and guide them as they were pulled to deeper water by boats.
![]()
Australia plans disposal of hundreds of stranded whale carcasses
Short Url
https://arab.news/gfntr
Australia plans disposal of hundreds of stranded whale carcasses
- Rescuers had managed to free around 70 of the long-finned pilot whales beached off the country’s remote southern coast
- A rescue team of more than 60 government scientists and volunteers had dashed to the remote location
’Starting anew’: Indonesians in disaster-struck Sumatra hold Christmas mass
SOUTH TAPANULI: At a church in Sumatra, dozens of worshippers sang hymns at a Christmas mass, gathered together for their first service since deadly floods swept the Indonesian island.
The Angkola Protestant Church, in the hard-hit South Tapanuli district, was festooned on Wednesday with balloons and simple Christmas decorations.
Outside, the street leading to the building was buried under mounds of debris and foliage.
Many in the congregation are still sheltering at evacuation sites after the disaster wreaked havoc on the island four weeks ago.
Churchgoer Krismanto Nainggolan said this year’s Christmas service was “different,” even as he noted joy in the bittersweet moment.
“The feelings are mixed. Every word of the pastor’s sermon made us want to cry,” he told AFP after the Christmas mass.
“But the spirit of Christmas... gave us strength,” he added.
Krismanto lost his house in the flooding, while many of his neighbors were killed.
According to the National Disaster Mitigation Agency, 1,129 people died, and more than 170 others are still missing.
While the annual monsoon season often brings heavy rain to Indonesia, this month’s deluge was among the worst disasters to strike Sumatra since a magnitude-9.1 earthquake triggered a massive tsunami in 2004.
In South Tapanuli, churchgoer Mea Rosmawati Zebua said she had not expected to be able to celebrate Christmas this year.
“In past years, Christmas was a routine. Now, (we are) very grateful because God still gives us the breath of life,” the 54-year-old told AFP.
While Christmas mass is typically held in the evening, the Angkola church moved its service to Wednesday afternoon ahead of rain forecast in the evening, pastor Yansen Roberto Ritonga said.
To prepare for the first service since the disaster, the church had to remove towering heaps of mud that had been washed inside.
Soldiers and police had helped clear the debris and driftwood.
On Wednesday afternoon, a man rang the church’s bell before the pastor’s entrance, marking the start of the mass.
Around 30 worshippers, each of them holding a lit candle, sung Christmas hymns.
Yansen said this year’s Christmas served as a moment of “reflection” for the congregation.
Churchgoer Krismanto said that despite the widespread damage and the personal cost of the disaster, he chose to see it as a new beginning.
“Our hopes depend solely on God because we are now starting over... our lives are starting anew,” he said.
The Angkola Protestant Church, in the hard-hit South Tapanuli district, was festooned on Wednesday with balloons and simple Christmas decorations.
Outside, the street leading to the building was buried under mounds of debris and foliage.
Many in the congregation are still sheltering at evacuation sites after the disaster wreaked havoc on the island four weeks ago.
Churchgoer Krismanto Nainggolan said this year’s Christmas service was “different,” even as he noted joy in the bittersweet moment.
“The feelings are mixed. Every word of the pastor’s sermon made us want to cry,” he told AFP after the Christmas mass.
“But the spirit of Christmas... gave us strength,” he added.
Krismanto lost his house in the flooding, while many of his neighbors were killed.
According to the National Disaster Mitigation Agency, 1,129 people died, and more than 170 others are still missing.
While the annual monsoon season often brings heavy rain to Indonesia, this month’s deluge was among the worst disasters to strike Sumatra since a magnitude-9.1 earthquake triggered a massive tsunami in 2004.
In South Tapanuli, churchgoer Mea Rosmawati Zebua said she had not expected to be able to celebrate Christmas this year.
“In past years, Christmas was a routine. Now, (we are) very grateful because God still gives us the breath of life,” the 54-year-old told AFP.
While Christmas mass is typically held in the evening, the Angkola church moved its service to Wednesday afternoon ahead of rain forecast in the evening, pastor Yansen Roberto Ritonga said.
To prepare for the first service since the disaster, the church had to remove towering heaps of mud that had been washed inside.
Soldiers and police had helped clear the debris and driftwood.
On Wednesday afternoon, a man rang the church’s bell before the pastor’s entrance, marking the start of the mass.
Around 30 worshippers, each of them holding a lit candle, sung Christmas hymns.
Yansen said this year’s Christmas served as a moment of “reflection” for the congregation.
Churchgoer Krismanto said that despite the widespread damage and the personal cost of the disaster, he chose to see it as a new beginning.
“Our hopes depend solely on God because we are now starting over... our lives are starting anew,” he said.
Latest updates
© 2025 SAUDI RESEARCH & PUBLISHING COMPANY, All Rights Reserved And subject to Terms of Use Agreement.