Volunteers have been working late into the evening, to care for a group of 30 pilot whales stranded in Golden Bay

Three of the whales have died since becoming beached near Pakawau on Saturday.

Around 200 locals and holidaymakers tried, unsuccessfully, to re-float the whales yesterday afternoon.

There were two or three people to a whale, taking them over each bar, but eventually the water became too low to push the whales any further.