A pod of killer whales trapped in drift ice near the Japanese coast has most likely managed to get out safely, a representative

A pod of killer whales trapped in drift ice near the Japanese coast has most likely managed to get out safely, a representative of the local administration of Rausu, a city on Hokkaido, Japan’s northernmost island, said. 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. Источник: TASS Russian news agency