Fifty-five whales stranded on S.African beach

KOMMETJIE BEACH, South Africa (Reuters) - About 55 whales were stranded on a beach near Cape Town on Saturday and high waves were hampering efforts by rescue teams to get them back into the water.

Volunteers and marine scientists worked to save the whales shortly after the adults and calves first came ashore in bad weather at 1:30 a.m. EDT (0530 GMT), said Craig Lambinon, spokesman for the National Sea Rescue Institute (NSRI).