TOKYO, February 7. /TASS/. A pod of killer whales trapped in drift ice near the Japanese coast has most likely managed to get out safely, TASS has learned from a representative of the local administration of Rausu, a city on Hokkaido, Japan’s northernmost island near which the trapped orcas were spotted.

"We have just inspected that location," the official said. "There were no orcas, while drifting ice has significantly weakened and given way. We hope this is not wishful thinking, but the chances are high that the killer whales managed to successfully get out. The risk remains that they may end up being trapped anew in some other location, but it seems that they have broken free in our area," he explained.

Earlier, a unit of the Japan Coast Guard based in Rausu reported that about one kilometer away from the shore drone surveillance had spotted a pod of about 10 killer whales with calves. They were crowded together in a small open section surrounded on all sides by thick drift ice. The Kyodo news agency said that dispatching a rescue vessel to help the orcas was not possible at the time.

The Russian Federal Fisheries Agency extended the Japanese Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries an offer to assist in rescuing the animals, the agency’s press service said. Japan has not yet responded to the offer, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told Sputnik Radio.