About 90 whales have washed up on Sunday Island in the Orkney Archipelago in northern Scotland, the first such incident in 30 years, according to the website of the British Environment Agency (BDMLR).
When the authorities arrived at the scene, 77 whales had died. Experts tried to help the remaining 12 dolphins, but their condition began to deteriorate rapidly. They decided to euthanize the rest.
It is unclear what caused an entire pod of whales to wash up on the beach.
Researchers believe that one of the whales was stranded while the others tried to help it, and then the tragedy occurred.
Scientists hope to find out the cause of the whales' strange behaviour through a necropsy. Experts from the Scottish Marine Strandings Programme will try to collect as many bodies as possible from the beach to conduct a full investigation at the scene.
On Thursday 11 July, the British Marine Life Rescue Service (BDMLR) received a report of a mass stranding, and scientists were immediately mobilised with response equipment to reach the island off the coast of Scotland.
"There are no clear indications as to why they all stranded," the organization added. "It may take some time before full results are available due to the enormous task of conducting these tests."