Killer whales trapped in the ice off the Japanese coast have found their way to freedom the animals

More than a dozen orcas were trapped off the coast of Rausu, northern Japan, on Tuesday. There were also some baby killer whales. Then one of the fishermen informed the Japanese Coast Guard. Video footage showed the animals gasping for breath in a 10-square-metre hole. Due to the thickness of the ice, it was impossible for an icebreaker to reach the scene and rescue the animals.

“We have no choice but to wait until the ice breaks and they can escape this way,” a city official told NHK.

But the killer whales must have found a way out now, because they were no longer visible on Wednesday, according to local authorities. They searched for the animals for about an hour and a half, but they were nowhere to be found, the Japan Times reported. It sounds like this: “We suspect they have found a way out.”

On Tuesday evening, it was already established that the group had moved slightly north. The drifting ice may have been thinner Wednesday, giving the killer whales a chance to escape.

In 2005, a similar incident occurred in Rawso, when another group got stuck in the ice. Most of the animals did not survive the ordeal. Fortunately, things seem to have ended well now.