Another pod of whales stranded in New Zealand, bringing total to 650

This is because they tagged all the re-floated whales from the first pod, and none of the new whales were tagged.

Helpers plan to return on Sunday, to help as many healthy whales as they can, braving the threat of sharks and stingrays.

According to Mr Lamason, around 20 of the new whales have already had to be euthanised because they were in too poor condition to save.

Rescuers were hopeful earlier on Saturday as they had managed to refloat 100 whales.

The conditions helped; they had crystal clear waters on their side, and dozens of volunteers formed a human chain to keep the whales afloat.

Mr Lamason indicated current plans were to tether the carcasses to stakes or a boat in the shallow tidal waters and let them decompose.

Officials are now going to have to undertake the grim task of disposing of the whales.