Orca stranding on Hawke’s Bay beach prompts rescue attempt

Saturday's orca rescue under way at Porangahau Beach. Photo / DoC

A juvenile whale has been returned to the sea but another whale has perished, after the stranding of two orca at Porangahau Beach over the weekend prompted attempts to save them.

The stranding was reported to the Department of Conservation a short while before 9am on Saturday, a social media post from the department said.

Two teams responded, along with Project Jonah, Whale Rescue and local hapū Ngāti Kere.

When DoC staff arrived, a female orca had died and a juvenile was still alive.

A trench was excavated to the sea, and teams used hoses to keep the remaining orca wet until it refloated on the incoming tide about 6pm.

The adult female that died was secured for the night for burial to take place on Sunday.