Rescuers were forced to abandon their efforts to save 149 dolphins that were stranded on a beach in Japan after working tirelessly all day to help the creatures . As darkness fell on the beach in Hokota , around 60 miles northeast of Tokyo , coastguards and officials called off the rescue operation after only managing to save three of the 149 melon-headed dolphins that had beached . The rest of the animals had either died or were dying , they said . Scroll down for video . Rescuers managed to save three dolphins , but the remaining of the beached pod are 'dead or dying ' A volunteer pours water on a dolphin to stop its skin drying out . Others were being carried back to the ocean . Workers use a crane to remove one of the 146 melon-headed whales that died when beached in Hokota . 'It was becoming dark and too dangerous to continue the rescue work at this beach , where we could not bring heavy equipment , ' a Hokota city official said . 'Many people volunteered to rescue them but the dolphins became very , very weak . ' 'Only three of them have been successfully returned to the sea , as far as we can confirm , ' he added . Volunteers from local communities had joined forces with coastguards to try and save the dolphins , pouring water on them to stop their skins drying out . They also used slings to carry some back into the water , after they were seen early on Friday morning on the beach writhing in pain . But despite desperate efforts to help the melon-headed whales , some were being pushed back onto the beach by the tide soon after being released . The creatures are usually found deep in the sea but have mysteriously beached about 60 miles northeast of Tokyo . Volunteers and residents living nearby used slings to carry the dolphins - but some were carried back to shore . Young children look at melon-headed whales beached on the shore of Hokota city , northeast of Tokyo . Scientists say they are not sure how the dolphins ended up on the beach but believe they might have got lost . The location of Hokota where the dolphins beached . It is now thought 150 creatures are on the beach in Japan . Television footage showed several animals had been badly cut , and many had deep gashes on their skin . Speaking earlier today a coastguard official said they are aware a number of the sea creatures have died . 'We see one or two whales washing ashore a year , but this may be the first time we have found over 100 of them on a beach , . he added . A Hokota city official said they had counted 149 dolphins , revising an earlier figure of 130 . Three had been successfully returned to the sea by the late afternoon , he added . Coastguards covered the dolphins in blankets and put them on a boat so they could be put back in the sea . The Japanese Coast Guard worked nonestop to save the melon-headed whales , part of the dolpin family . The creatures usually live in the deep ocean , but for an unexplained reason had become beached on the shore . Dozens of volunteers and local residents turned out to help coastguards with the dolphin rescue operation . The pod of dolphins was stretched out along a roughly six mile-long stretch of beach in Hokota , Ibaraki , where they were found by locals early on Friday morning . While the reason for the beaching was unclear , Tadasu Yamadao , a researcher at the National Museum of Nature and Science , said the dolphins might have got lost . He explained : 'Sonar waves the dolphins emit might have been absorbed in the shoals , which could cause them to lose their sense of direction . ' Melon-headed whales , also known as electra dolphins , are relatively common in Japanese waters and can grow to be two-to-three meters ( six-to-nine feet ) long . Dolphins emit sonar waves , but researches say if these are absorbed they can lose their sense of direction . The rescue operation is in stark contract with Japan 's stereotypical attitude towards whales , which are hunted . In 2011 , about 50 melon-headed whales beached themselves in a similar area . The dolphin rescue that took place on Friday was a stark contract to the Japan 's reputation towards its sealife , as the country continues to hunt minke and pilot whales despite international criticism . It has never made any secret of the fact that meat from the animals is consumed . Japan also defies international opinion with the annual slaughter of hundreds of dolphins in a bay near the southern whaling town of Taiji . The killing was brought to worldwide attention with the Oscar-winning documentary 'The Cove ' .
Pod of melon-headed whales beached in Tokyo , 60 miles from Hokota . Rescuers worked tirelessly to save creatures , but only three survived . 146 helpless dolphins were 'dead or dying ' as rescue operation called off . Scientists believe creatures ended up on shore after being disorientated .