Forty-six whales stranded on a beach on the Indonesian island of Madura have died, while rescuers managed to push three back out to sea, the provincial governor said, according to Al Jazeera.

A rescue effort was launched as early as Thursday, February 18, after dozens of pilot whales beached. Volunteers pushed some back out to sea, while the remains of the dead whales were expected to be buried on Saturday.

“But some came back here, trying to find their mothers, though it turns out the mothers are dead,” East Java Governor Khofifah Indar Parawansa said.

Video footage on Friday showed whales dotted across a wide area with local residents wading in ankle-deep water, some trying to splash water on them or push them out to sea, while others took photos while mounting the stranded animals.

The governor told the Reuters news agency that authorities planned to bury the dead whales on Saturday once the tide had receded and said two excavators had been brought in.

It is not fully understood why whales, which travel together in pods, beach themselves but they are known to follow a leader, as well as gather around an injured or distressed whale.