Whales were healthy before Orkney stranding – expert

The pod included male whales, measuring up to seven metres (22ft) long, as well as females, calves and juveniles.

The British Divers Marine Life Rescue (BDMLR) established that 12 of the animals at Tresness Beach on the island of Sanday were still alive when they came out of the water.

Emma Neave-Webb, from the BDMLR charity, said the animals were thought have been stranded “for quite some time”.

She said animals were very closely packed together with alive animals next to dead animals.

The area was cut off by the high tide and the whales needed to be moved back into an upright position as quickly as possible if there was to be any chance of saving them.

But the soft sand meant the whales fell back over when the rescuers attempted to right them.

The decision was made to euthanise the animals after efforts to save them failed.

Ms Neave-Webb said that removing the whales was a “massive undertaking”.

Orkney Islands Council confirmed discussions were taking place with community representatives on how best to dispose of the bodies, with the “likely option” being burial.

The stranding is thought to be the largest UK stranding since 1927 when 126 out of more than 130 false killer whales died in the Dornoch Firth, external, in the Highlands.

Last year an entire pod of 55 pilot whales died following a stranding on Lewis.