Dozens of pilot whales stranded on New Zealand coast

Dozens of pilot whales have been found stranded on a beach in New Zealand's North Island and rescuers are trying to refloat a handful of the survivors, the country's conservation department said on Thursday.

At least 20 pilot whales were stranded along the Ngawi coast near Cape Palliser, the southern-most point of the North Island, the Department of Conservation said.

The department said it was working with local iwi - a Maori tribe - and Project Jonah, a group that specialises in rescuing stranded whales. Two whales have been successfully refloated so far.

Locals said up to 50 whales had been stranded on the coastline overnight, Radio New Zealand reported.

Most succumbed to their injuries and volunteers were trying to keep survivors alive and hydrated using buckets of water and towels.

"It's horrible. The ones that are alive are on their last breaths," Ngawi local Rob Bargh told Radio New Zealand.

In a post on Facebook on Thursday, Project Jonah said four whales were alive and rescuers would try to refloat them during high tide.

Whale strandings are fairly common in New Zealand and neighbouring Australia owing to large populations of pilot whales living in the deep oceans surrounding both island nations. The cause of whale stranding is unknown.