Thirty-three whales stranded on Farewell Spit were beyond help and had to be put down, the Department of Conservation says.
Of a pod of 99 pilot whales stranded on Farewell Spit on Monday, 49 died and the rest were refloated.
However 33 of those that survived stranded again overnight on Wednesday while those that made their way to deeper water are being monitored by Department of Conservation (DoC) staff.
Sue Halliwell from the Project Jonah volunteer organisation says the physical condition of the whales on the beach is deteriorating.
