Russian authorities say 10cm-15cm blocks of ice are preventing the endangered creatures from reaching open waters

This article is more than 8 years old

This article is more than 8 years old

Russian agencies are scrambling to save 100 beluga whales – an endangered species – trapped among large chunks of polar ice floating in the frigid Bering Sea. Russia's nature protection watchdog believes the whales might perish. Authorities say the ice is 10cm-15cm thick and is preventing the whales from reaching the open sea where they can swim freely.

Russia's ministry of natural resources and ecology said on Thursday that it has asked the transportation ministry for help and that an inter-departmental group is working on how to save the whales.

The International Union for Conservation of Nature listed the beluga whale as an endangered species in 2008.