PETROPAVLOVSK-KAMCHATSKY, October 2. /TASS/. Rescuers have succeeded in freeing four orcas stranded in shallow water near the settlement of Ustyevoye in Russia’s Kamchatka, as the animals were able to swim to the safety of deeper waters, regional Emergencies Minister Sergey Lebedev told TASS.

Early on October 2, four orcas ran aground in an estuary near the settlement of Ustyevoye in the Kamchatka’s Sobolevsky Region, located in Russia’s Far East. Rescuers, police officers and workers from the State Inspectorate for small vessels of the Russian emergencies ministry, as well as volunteers — about 30 people in total — were hand watering the orcas to keep them in good condition.

"The water has risen, and the animals managed to swim off on their own. They were escorted by a boat while they made their way to deeper waters," Lebedev said.