AN UPDATE TO THIS STORY IS BELOW

Hundreds of pilot whales died on a New Zealand beach Friday in what's being called one of the worst whale strandings the country has seen.

The New Zealand Department of Conservation estimated that 416 pilot whales were stranded on Farewell Spit — a beach on New Zealand's South Island — overnight, according to the New Zealand Herald. The majority of the whales were already dead when they were first discovered, but that did not stop more than 500 volunteers from rushing to the scene to help the surviving cetaceans.

"You could hear the sounds of splashing, of blowholes being cleared, of sighing. The young ones were the worst. Crying is the only way to describe it."

Volunteers used the high tide to get about 100 whales back into the bay and refloated, but many have become disoriented and restranded on the beach.

As night fell in New Zealand, close to 100 whales were still alive on the beach with rescuers planning to commence their efforts in the morning.

A direct cause for the stranding is unknown. Mass strandings can happen for many reasons such as illnesses, bad weather, confusion, navigational errors or complications with giving birth.

Pilot whales are social cetaceans that feed mainly on fish and squid and can be found nearly worldwide. Shortfin pilot whales prefer colder climates, like the waters around New Zealand, while longfin pilots have a much larger range.

Several reports say that this is the third-largest stranding event in New Zealand's history, with the largest happening in 1918 when 1,000 whales beached themselves on the Chatham Islands.

UPDATE

Early Sunday, Feb. 12, the Associated Press reported that even more whales stranded in New Zealand, bringing the total to 650.

According to a story in the Los Angeles Times:

"A new pod of 240 whales swam aground at a remote New Zealand beach Saturday just hours after weary volunteers managed to refloat a different group of whales following an earlier mass stranding.

"In total, more than 650 pilot whales have beached themselves along a three-mile stretch of coastline over two days on Farewell Spit at the tip of the South Island. About 335 of the whales are dead, 220 remain stranded and 100 are back at sea.

"The news was devastating for hundreds of volunteers who had come from around the country to help with the initial group of 416 stranded whales that was found early Friday, many of them already dead.

"Volunteers are planning to return Sunday to help refloat as many healthy whales as they can.

"Lamason said about 20 of the new group were euthanized by conservation workers because they were in poor condition and more would likely need to be killed Sunday."

READ THE COMPLETE L.A. TIMES STORY HERE

Heartbroken people from around the world took to social media to express their dismay and sadness, like these tweets: