Heartbreaking new footage of desperate efforts to rescue hundreds of stranded whales off the coast of Australia has been released. More than 450 long-finned pilot whales were found stranded 120 miles (193 km) south of the Tasmanian capital of Hobart on the west coast of the island, Monday, 21st September. The first half of the pod (270 whales) was spotted on a wide sandbank during an aerial reconnaissance of the remote Macquarie Harbour in the Tasmania state. Tasmania Parks and Wildlife Service Manager Nic Deka has since reported that roughly 200 more whales were spotted 10km further down the coast on Wednesday, September 23. Rescuers have been working tirelessly to free as many whales as they can, but some are re-beaching after they have been released. The stranding is the biggest on record in Australia and one of the largest mass-strandings in world history. So far only around 50 animals have been saved by the team of state park workers, fishermen and volunteers, who have been working tirelessly in the freezing waters.